Til Midnight (Original Version)
by Promkastel
Summary: After the sealing of Trihexa, one might expect Issei to finally find peace. However, a single discovery changes everything. Now on his own, confused, and his heart in pieces, Issei and the one person who sticks beside him must race against an ancient being whose machinations could spell the destruction of all Creation. Go read the rewrite.
1. Prelude

**Author-san: Hello there. My name is CrimsonPyre. I'm new here. This is my first story so please review the hell out of it so I can make it better. No flames please. Flamers will be subjected to public shaming. So without further ado, let's do the disclaimer! Hey kid, get your ass over here!**

**MC: Fine. Why does my name tag say "MC". My name is I-!**

**Pyre: Shut up and do the stupid disclaimer you perverted brat!**

**MC: Okay okay jeez. Pyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD and all its characters are owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. **

**Pyre: For now.**

**MC: Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

**[_Ddraig thinking_]**

**{Albion talking}**

**{_Albion thinking_}**

* * *

_Since living things could first think, there has been much debate over how the universe and everything in it began. Ask any modern day scientist and they will tell you that the universe began with an event known as the Big Bang over 14 billion years ago in which all visible matter, Time, Space, and Energy were released from a single point of infinite density and mass called a singularity. They are not completely wrong as the Universe is that nearly that old. The singularity part, however, is wrong. Others will look to the various religions of the world. The Greeks believed that the Universe began with Chaos and that the Protogenoi, beginning with Gaia, came from him and shaped the various natural forces of the planet. Hinduism states that the Universe begins and ends with regular 4.65 billion year cycles called Kalpas. The Norse were particularly brutal with the slaying of Ymir and the Shinto believed that the Kotoamatsukami were responsible for the world's creation._

_Medieval Christian Scholars would date the Universe at around 4000 to 5000 B.C while some put it as far back as 6000 B.C. These dates are wrong. The famous Archbishop, James Ussher states that the Universe began on October 23, 4004 BC at 9 in the morning. He was wrong due to the fact that he was off by about 12 days, and 22 hours. The entirety of Creation began on October 10 at 8 in what would now be morning. This makes the Omniverse a Libra. Now keep this date in mind because this date will be an important date in the story you are about to read. _

_Before we truly begin with our story, we must first know who we are reading about. Our story is about a boy. Of course, the boy isn't the only one who participates in this story but let's focus on the boy for now. His story began when he was born to two parents who kept trying for children after two failed pregnancies. He was born alongside his twin sister, who turned out to be a prodigious child. His journey began like your typical romantic comedy with the classic "Boy Meets Girl". This would quickly devolve into the standard ecchi, harem anime plot for the supernatural starting with "Boy Gets Killed By Girl" all the way to "Boy Saves The World". Let's focus on the last part, "Boy Saves The World", or more specifically "Boy Saves The World From His Rival's Psycho Grandfather And His Pet Apocalypse Beast". One would expect the Boy to have found peace after this fight but sadly, reality nor the Universe is not kind to its heroes. In another world, he may have settled down with his harem, have kids, a house, two dogs, and three cats but this is not that universe. So far, the Boy has been getting lucky or lucky as one can get after entering the Moonlit World. His defeat of the Apocalypse Beast was only the beginning._

_In Revelation 3:18, the Prophet John speaks of a Beast who bears the number 666. The rest of the verses in the Book are the ramblings of a Prophet whose lost most of his sanity to the bee sting execution method employed by the Roman Empire. But the part about the Beast was right and only the first. The signal that more things were to come. For you see, the Boy may have defeated the Beast with the assistance of the denizens of the Moonlit World, but they never accounted for the true Adversary. The Great Dragon. No, not that Red Lizard Brat who fancies himself a God created by the Cosmic Deity and Embodiment of Thought, Cognition no. I refer to the Dragon. The one in " and another sign appeared in the Sky. An enormous dragon with seven heads and ten horns with seven crowns upon its head and with a sweep of its tail cast one third of the stars from the sky and onto the Earth". That Dragon._

_Now remember that date, I told you before I started talking about the Boy. That date just so happens to be today's date. Much like this date signifies a great change in the grand scheme of Existence, this date will signify a massive change in the Boy's life. Our story will truly begin much like where Humanity began. In a Garden. Whether this change is good for the Boy or bad for him. We'll just have to find out won't we._

* * *

**So guys like it? Hate it? **

**Once again please review the ever living sh** out of it! Thank you! Make it a great day(night) or not the choice is not yours! Bye!**


	2. In Which Cheaters Will Cheat

**Pyre: Sup guys, I'm back with another chapter. Thank you to the five people who read this! I really appreciate it that someone to their time to read my story. Okay now, kid do the disclaimer.**

**Irina: Hai~. CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi, Please support the official release. Can i go back to Issei-kun now. **

**Pyre:*sigh* Yeah. The kid'll need you.**

**Future Pyre: The first five chapters following the prologue are based on IluLugal's Change of a Dragon. Please go read it.**

* * *

**[Ddraig speaking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion speaking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

"..."- normal speech

_Thinking_

_"..."- _Mental Speech

**Attacks and Spells**

* * *

_The city was on fire. Massive storms battered the entire land as buildings and people were torn apart and destroyed. This was the situation he found himself in. _

_**[Boost]**_

_A familiar red gauntlet appeared on Issei's arm. He ran around the city looking for survivors but found none as he ran up a street filled with demolished homes and the charred corpses of the people that lived there. Screams filled the air as he heard people roasting alive in the flames. The moon lay broken in a sky that was the color of blood._

_"NO!" There lying in front of him was the mutilated body of one Rias Gremory. Her lifeless eyes stared at him. Her torso was rip open and she was missing her left arm and legs. He looked around and saw more bodies. Each one belonging to one of his friends. _

_He then heard an ear shattering roar. Issei turned around and saw a sight that would haunt him. A massive dragon standing taller than any other mountain stood off in the distance. It beat its massive wings creating massive winds and lightning arced off its very body ionizing the sky. The dragon then turned all three of its heads. Their piercing red eyes stared deep into Issei's very soul._

"_Ddraig, buddy! I need help here!", Issei yelled. He received no response. "Ddraig." He looked down to see the Sacred Gear on his arm mangled and the green gem dull and cracked. The Dragon reared its three heads back and unleashed a torrent of golden energy towards him._

Issei jolted awake. He looked around and saw his classmates staring at him with a strange look on their faces while some were holding in their laughter. He spotted Kiba, who shot him a worried look.

"Mr. Hyoudou. Do you find my class so boring that you would rather take a nap", the teacher said.

"No. Sorry, Az-ne-I mean, Amaranth-Sensei", Issei replied sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Just don't let it happen again."

"Hai". Issei sighed as the Amaranth-Sensei got back to lecturing about something. He had long since forgotten what she was talking about. Issei grit his teeth as he heard what his classmates were saying about him.

"Pervert was probably having a wet dream" was one he heard a lot. Issei looked out the window. It was the same damn dream again. The one he had been having every night ever since Trihexa had been sealed. It started off the same each time. Him. A street littered with corpses and demolished houses and always ended with him being killed by a massive three-headed dragon.

"Issei-kun." A male voice called out in front of him. He looked up and saw that it was Kiba. Kiba Yuuto was a handsome young man. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a mole underneath his left eye. He was known the school over as the "**The Prince of Kuoh**" and the wet dream of every female in their grade.

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Are you okay? You don't look so good. In fact, you look worse than you did yesterday", Kiba replied worried for his friend. Issei sighed. The only other people who had noticed his condition were Irina and Ddraig. Ddraig offered what help he could but interpreting dreams were not his forte. Irina had been a big help often coming into his room at night to calm him down but she wasn't here right now. Irina had been called away by Michael to take care of some stray devil over in Berlin.

"I'm alright Kiba. I haven't been getting enough sleep is all. A good nap should help", Issei reassured his friend. Kiba looked unconvinced.

"We should tell Rias-sama about this. Maybe she could help with your… condition", Kiba offered. Issei looked down. Rias and the other girls had been avoiding him the past few months. They always had an excuse and Issei could understand. Asia was the President of the Occult Research Club, Ravel had duties to her house, Koneko was off training with Xenovia, and Rias and Akeno were busy with college. He just wish they made some time for him and not blow him off as if he was just a nuisance.

"Yeah okay", Issei replied.

* * *

**3:15 p.m, Kuoh Academy, October 10, 2019**

"All right. Remember you all have to research an endangered species and write a report about it. It is due at the end of the week", Ashley Amaranth said with a tone that left no room for complaints. The entire class grumbled under their breaths. Ashley Amaranth was the substitute teacher for Issei's class ever since Rossweisse was called out by the various supernatural leaders to check on Trihexa's seal. Apparently, the beast had made a tiny crack and this sent the entire supernatural world into hysterics so they called in the foremost seal experts from each pantheon.

"You can all go. Except you Issei. Stay after class for a few minutes."

Kiba looked at his friend apologetically and signaled that he would wait for him outside the teacher's office. Issei signaled an okay back. He walked up to Amaranth sensei and followed her to her office. Once inside, she motioned for him to sit in an empty chair in front of her desk.

"Okay Issei, tell me what's wrong?", Ashley asked after a few moments.

"Huh. Nothing's wrong sensei", Issei lied.

Ashley didn't look convinced. "Issei, I was your babysitter for the better part of five years. I know when you're lying. Now, tell Az-nee what's wrong."

Issei sighed. There was no lying to her. "I haven't been getting any sleep."

Ashley raised a brow. He did look sleep deprived if the growing bags around his eyes had anything to say about it. She wondered what it could be that was bothering him. Issei was normally a happy kid even when his parents constantly compared him to his twin. _So what could be bothering him so much that he isn't sleeping_, she wondered.

"I've been having recurring nightmares. It's the same each time." She motioned for him to go on.

"The city is on fire. Everyone is dead. I don't know how but I have a hunch. A few nights ago, a dragon started appearing in my dreams. I don't know how to describe it. It's like Death itself came and started killing everyone. It always kills me at the end and then I wake up", Issei explained glad to get some of the weight off of his chest. He looked at Ashley and waited for a response. Ashley looked at him and saw the hollow look in his eyes. She stayed silent for a few minutes thinking of how to go about interpreting his dream.

"It sounds like this dream is of something significant that will happen in your life. The dragon must symbolize the event and the burning city and corpses represent your future helplessness to overcome this event alone. It's quite normal having a dream about something big that will happen in your life. I will admit though, most dreams aren't so… what's the word? Gory.

"The only thing that matters now is how you'll overcome this," Ashley replied after a tense five minutes. Issei looked at her. _A dream about a future event huh,_ he thought.

"Thanks, Az-nee. I just needed to get that off my chest",Issei replied. His former babysitter was truly one of a kind.

"Think nothing of it. Remember, if you need to talk to me about anything. Just come to my office. I'll always be here to lend an ear, little dragon", Ashley replied.

"Az-nee! I'm a grown man now!" Issei said with an indignant tone. Ashley laughed and opened the door for him. Just as Issei was about to walk out, Ashley called to him,

"Remember to do the damn report you brat."

Issei walked out leaving her alone. She had stiffened when she heard Issei mention a three headed dragon. Ashley shook her head erasing the thought and moved on with her day. That day was promptly ruined the minute she picked up and graded the first test.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THREE AND A HALF PEOPLE AS A DAMN ANSWER!"

Issei shook his head as he heard his former babysitter now teacher scream. He turned the corner and saw Kiba waiting there for him. They then proceeded to make their way to the old school house. The old school house was an old three story building that housed the Occult Research Club. Issei looked at the building as they walked towards it and began to remember all the good and bad times he had ever since becoming the Pawn of Rias Gremory. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kiba open the door. Upon entering, he noticed most of the girls were there including Rias and Akeno.

_Rias. Akeno-san, _Issei thought as he looked at them. "Hey Rias. Akeno-san", Issei greeted them cheerfully.

"Oh, hello Issei", Rias replied in a cool and neutral tone not at all noticing his facade. Issei looked taken aback for a split second but quickly covered it up with the same grin. What was going on with them?

"Hello Issei-kun", Akeno replied in a similar manner with a forced smile.

Kiba looked between his best friend and the girls noticing that Akeno looked as if she didn't even want to see Issei. Trying his luck on how they would react to him, Kiba said in a professional tone, "Rias-sama. Akeno. How have you been? We haven't seen you or Akeno for the past few months".

Not noticing her Knight's tone, Rias looked towards the Knight and smiled warmly. "Why Yuuto, college has been keeping us busy for the past few months. We just recently began thinking about being on the student council. Sorry if we worried you", Rias replied to her Knight.

Issei and Kiba were floored. What was going on? Kiba looked at Issei and saw that the Pawn was carefully holding his rage and grief. Issei was about to speak when Akeno cut him off.

"We just came by to see how the club was doing with Asia being president and all. By how things are looking, I'd say she's doing pretty well,"Akeno said to the blonde haired girl.

"Eheheh. Thank you for the praise, Rias-oneesama. Akeno-oneesama. We've been quite well," Asia replied with a small blush on her cheeks. Issei and Kiba noticed how she didn't react to how they were treating Issei. For Kiba, however, it seemed as if Asia was purposely ignoring how they treated Issei.

He looked around the rest of the room and noticed that the other girls were actively ignoring Issei. Koneko was just munching on her snacks while Xenovia was just sitting there. Ravel just sat next to Koneko reading a book.

Koneko finally spoke up, "We've been well Rias-sama. My sister sends you her regards as she will be busy being the ambassador of the Youkai."

"That's great Koneko," Akeno said happily, "Good for her."

Issei finally snapped. "Is that all you came for. Just to _CHECK!", _Issei almost yelled.

His eyes widened and realized that his words were cold. He then began hurriedly speaking in a warm voice with the same goofy grin.

"Why don't you tell us about college life? You know like how the workload is. The professors, anything. We have time", Issei said with the same goofy smile.

Kiba relaxed his shoulders and sighed in relief but Rias's next words would shock him.

"Yes, that is all we came for _Ise_. College is keeping us rather busy so we came to tell you guys of a few things to expect for the future", Rias said to him in a strict tone that was so cold it sent chills up Kiba's spine. He watched the light in Issei's eyes dim slightly.

"We only came to say that in the near future. We won't be able to come around as much because as future President and Vice President of the faculty, we'll be busy with elections and after winning, it will only get tougher. Luckily, our _senpai_ was kind enough to guide us so we can be effective bearers of our positions~", Akeno said. While Akeno did not speak towards anyone in particular, Issei knew she was talking to him. He also caught the way she said senpai. It was seductive, flirty, and slightly sexual. Others may think that he was overthinking things and being paranoid but let's call it a gut feeling.

"Yuuto. We have had a recent increase in Devil Contracts and since Issei is the worst at doing contracts, I want you to pick up his load as to not overburden Asia", Rias said to her Knight. Kiba just stood there in shock. He never expected Rias to outright belittle and insult Issei like that. He looked around the room expecting one of the girls to defend him but found that they all looked as if they didn't notice much to his disbelief.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Now, if you'll excuse us. We much to do", and with that, Rias and Akeno left the room.

_Drip. Drip. _

Issei looked up noticing no one else in the room except for Kiba. He looked at his hand and saw crescent shaped wounds from his fingernails digging in. "What the hell! Five months without seeing them and that's what they say!" Issei yelled as he punched a wall completely breaking the wood and drywall.

Kiba looked at his friend worryingly. He saw his suffering and honestly, it didn't surprise him. Five months without contact and the few times he did interact with any of the other girls, they always blew him off. It was always _"I'm busy", "Get out of my face pervert", _or _"Maybe next time."_ so he wasn't surprised that Issei reacted the way he did. But what could he do? He tried talking to Issei about it but completely avoided the topic and the one person who could get him to talk was off on a five day mission. In those five days, Kiba had sparred with Issei in order to get those feelings out. On top of the girls, the dreams Issei has been having. He had heard him talking to Amaranth-sensei about them. The minute Issei mentioned the dragon, Kiba felt his soul and blood freeze despite not knowing why. Kiba felt weak. Useless. The one person who he regarded as a brother was suffering and there was nothing he could do. Just him speaking to Issei wouldn't be enough. This was an effort that all his friends needed to take a part in but the others in the group were busy.

Gasper was staying with Valerie in the hospital.

Azazel was always with the Grigori due to past events.

The girls, well…

Rossweisse was in the north.

Student Council was too busy dealing with the school and Sona's pet project.

And the Four Satans, Vali Team, and Grayfia were busy dealing with the fallout alongside the other leaders. The only solace Kiba had was that Irina would be back in a few days to snap Issei out of whatever funk he was in. But for now there was nothing that could be done. He snapped out of his reverie when he heard Issei run out of the building.

* * *

**With Issei**

Issei ran as fast as his legs could carry him. His target, Kuoh College Division. As he ran, he heard a voice in his head.

**[Partner, what's wrong? Why are you running? Did you piss off the Kendo Club again?]**, Ddraig said having just woken up from his nap. The sleep was still present in his voice.

Issei stopped running and looked at the back of his hand. There was a dull green glowing circle shining there.

"Ddraig!" Issei said. The only other person who had listened to his talk of his dreams. Issei calmed down and said,"Ddraig, it's good to hear from you. We need to talk about that dragon later but for now there's something I need to do."

Hearing the seriousness that was not at all common in Issei's voice, the Red Dragon Emperor understood. Something's about to happen or has already happened.

**[Alright partner. I'll stay awake and stick with you through this. I need to know exactly what happened. If you need me, I'm here to talk]**, Ddraig said.

"_Thanks Ddraig. I'll explain things as soon as I'm done here"_, and with that Issei continued on his way to the campus. Continuing his run, Issei took a shortcut through the park and after a few minutes, saw the ORC a few meters ahead. Hiding behind the corner, Issei watched as the girls said goodbye to Rias and Akeno but there was something odd about it.

_When did they start accompanying them? Do they need to do something here or is it something else?, _Issei thought.

Out of sight and a few feet behind them, Issei started to follow Rias and Akeno into the campus. Ddraig had been quiet for the past few minutes. As a Dragon Emperor, he had been alive for nearly a few million years. Experience was something he had in spades and if being alive that long has given him anything, it was the sense that something was about to happen. Something bad.

Issei arrived before a massive gate and on the other side of campus, he could see a massive building and many other smaller buildings which he guessed were either the dorms, sororities, or fraternities. There were no students out so getting in was the easy part. Upon entering, he saw the backs of his two targets. He followed them at a quiet, but leisurely place making sure to suppress his power as to not be sensed. He followed behind the two women as they expertly crossed the campus. He walked past statues which he assumed to be founders or important teachers. On the path, many trees adorned the path he was walking on. He couldn't identify them and silently wished that he payed more attention to Ashley's lectures during class.

The buildings looked similar to that of Ivy League universities such as Cambridge when he was looking at their campuses for possible universities to apply to. He mentally laughed at the thought of getting into an Ivy League. While he wasn't smart, Issei wasn't stupid so he might have a chance. Maybe the founders were inspired? He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the building getting larger and saw Rias and Akeno enter. A few students were exiting for what Issei thought was to spend the weekend out. It was 5:00 PM after all and most of the students had already left campus.

Walking in, he followed Rias and Akeno who were talking to each other. He wasn't able to make out what they were saying but the way they looked from time to time made him suspicious of what they were saying. The very fact that he wasn't noticed was beyond him as he wasn't the most subtle member of the peerage. He watched as they crossed towards a massive staircase that seemed to span the entire room. Reaching the top, they made a left turn and stopped at a door. Issei still at the edge peeked out and saw the words, Student Faculty in bright gold letters in a wooden frame. Clearly, someone had spent money on this. A creaking sound of a door opening brought him out of whatever pyramid scheme he was planning. He saw a man step out. He was tall, maybe six foot, a bit taller, with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His physique showed that he did sports and to Issei's guess, it was martial arts or something along the lines of a combat sport. His eyes told Issei a different story. Issei perceived him as a threat not in matters of actual power, but in something else.

Issei continued to watch the man as he talked to Rias and Akeno. After a few minutes, he invited them in.

**[I don't like this partner. Something about this isn't right.]**, Ddraig said after being silent for the entire walk.

"I don't like it either, Ddraig, but I have to find out what's happening. Why they're being so damn distant", Issei said. Ddraig stayed silent praying to whatever god that what they'll find out won't mess his partner up.

**[But still, something about him isn't right. You should leave while you still can. I have a feeling that things will get ugly with that guy]**, Ddraig tried to convince Issei.

"_C'mon. There's nothing to worry about, this guy is weak. Probably low class or weaker",_ Issei mentally replied, _"Just a peek and then I'll ask them at the door. Okay."_

Issei looked in and saw the room. The room was beautifully decorated. There was a luxurious looking couch and the desks of the members of the faculty were arranged in a square formation with the president's desk at the head. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with various books. However, it wasn't the room that took Issei's breath. It was what he saw and heard.

He watched as Rias and Akeno were leaning on the man. He had a smile and a heavy blush on his face. Rias and Akeno's eyes were filled with happiness, warmth, and want. It was the same look they used to give him when Issei saved Rias from her marriage and when Issei reunited Baraqiel with his daughter.

Ddraig's eyes grew wide. He hoped what he was seeing was just sort of sick illusion created by a wraith or something. The dragon checked on his partner's state. He found nothing. Not a shred of emotion or conscience. It's as if his partner just shut down. Ddraig tried to enter his mindscape but was forcefully ejected.

_**This is not good**__, _Ddraig thought. He tried again only for the same thing to happen over and over again. He turned his gaze back to the situation. Just what happened in the past five months. He had been busy recovering power and consoling Issei after every nightmare he had. Just what was going on. Ddraig needed answers.

Issei watched as Rias and Akeno wrapped themselves around him. He saw them hug him lovingly on each side making a sandwich.

"Rias, Akeno. Look I know you like me but can we not do this here. We have papers to sign off handed to us by the professors and the dean", the man talked still blushing, "We can do this tomorrow. I promised to take you both out after all."

He had a smile on his face filled with pride and accomplishment. How could he not. Here he was sitting with the two most beautiful women in the entire school and they wanted him.

"Hmmmm~", Akeno said finally breaking the silence. "You know you want this just as much we do, Tatsuya-kun~", she said her voice oozing seduction and sex appeal.

"What the hell Akeno! We agreed that we would do this together and here you are trying to seduce him in front of me!", Rias yelled hotly.

"Ara ara~ Rias-chan. What are you talking about? It's obvious he wants me right now", Akeno said jutting out her chest making it jiggle.

"And secondly, your right! It's so fun to see you get so riled up. I wonder what will happen if I do this.~" Akeno began to nibble on Tatsuya's ear.

Rias's blood boiled. Akeno loved doing this to her even when they were with Issei. She marched over to the two and held Tatsuya's face.

"I'm glad we met you Tatsuya. Come love and give me a kiss." Tatsuya made his way over to Rias and kissed her deeply while Akeno pouted and Issei watched with silent horror.

Each action was like a stab in the heart for him. Why? Why are they doing these things? He did everything for them. To make them happy. Hell, he fought the Apocalypse Beast for them. Was that not enough!

The kiss became heated with their tongues clashing for dominance but soon ended. Akeno was even more daring than Rias that was for sure. Issei swore he heard her moan a couple of times. Tatsuya and Akeno broke apart and looked at the clock still dazed from the kiss. _5:30._

_Oh shit_, he thought. There were only 30 minutes left till the deadline. He saw Akeno and Rias were thinking the same thing and began to file papers.

* * *

**With Issei**

Issei was running as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was until he tripped and landed face first. He looked up and recognized the place. It was where Raynare killed him on his first date.

He began hyperventalating. Suddenly, he heard a voice screaming at him.

**[-ssei! Issei! Snap out of it! Shit, Issei answer me! If you can hear me, move your left hand up!]**, Ddraig yelled.

Issei moved his hand up and looked at the green circle with blank eyes.

**[Fuck! Issei, I need you to listen to me. There is something wrong with your Evil Pieces. I can't control them anymore. It looks like the Beast left you with a parting gift that triggers when you're emotionally unstable. Your dragon power and a strange energy in your blood is reacting violently to the energy of the pieces. We need to leave and find somewhere peaceful and quiet for you to stabilize.]**, Ddraig yelled anxiously at his partner. Ddraig cursed those women. His partner was now unstable and his pieces were eating away at his life force.

Understanding that Ddraig was right, Issei slowly stood up. He suddenly lost his balance and gripped the edge of the fountain. His head finally cleared up after what felt like forever.

_Crap, my body won't respond to me. My chest, it hurts!, _Issei thought as he gripped his chest.

**[Partner, it's the pieces. You can't control them. Trihexa corrupted them and your draconic power is reacting violently with them. The pain and heat are just side effects. We need to get you home so we can further analyze the situation to come up with a plan of action!]**, Ddraig urged Issei.

Issei nodded and willed his body to stand and move. Every step he took was utter hell. It felt as if his every muscle, vein, and tendon were ripping themselves apart. The entire walk home was the greatest pain Issei ever felt. With all his effort, he pushed the gate open. Issei saw the house that he owned. It had been remodeled by the Gremory Family into a mansion with a dirt path leading up to the house. He made his way up to the door the pain becoming more unbearable with each step. Using the last bit of his energy, he opened the door and made his way to his room. He collapsed in his bed and turned to face the ceiling. His bed felt like Heaven after all the pain he just went through. Issei sat up after five minutes. He heard birds chirping outside his window and imagined the wind blowing through the various trees and flowers on his property. After a moment, he broke down and started crying.

*Cough!*

Issei spit a massive glob of blood from his mouth. He stared at the floor tears streaming down his face.

_Why? What did I do to deserve this? Was it because I was naive? Because I was stupid? Because I was a pervert?_

**[Stop right there partner. None of this is your fault. I don't know why those filthy devils did this but I know it wasn't because you were kind.]**, Ddraig said to his partner.

"_Then why? Why were they saying those… things? Why were they with that fucker!"_, Issei yelled.

**[I don't know. But what they said about you isn't true. Sure, you aren't the most intelligent and are a pervert but those can be fixed. No one is born perfect after all. You can become more intelligent. You can tame and dominate your perversion. And all those other things, well, you'll just have to show them why dragons are the most feared and respected beings among the supernatural.]**, Ddraig said to him.

With those words, Issei finally smiled a true smile. The first all day. He looked at his wrist and said, "Thanks Ddraig. I needed that."

**[Anytime partner]**

The moon rose and its light filled his room after sitting there staring out his window. He decided to turn in for the night. He opened his eyes to the same scene but something was different. The dragon was there but the others were there with it. Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Asia, Xenovia, Ravel. They were there helping the dragon. Issei was then surrounded by them.

Each one bearing a sadistic grin. Without a warning, Xenovia slashed Issei's Achilles tendon making him fall. She laughed at his pain. Then Koneko started to punch him in the gut repeatedly making him cough blood with her flaming fists. Each hit left a burn mark in the shape of a fist. Akeno walked up and began electrecuting him. Issei screamed his lungs out for what seemed like forever. She stopped. Then Rias walked up and said to words that would haunt him.

"You were a good toy, Issei-kun. I had fun playing with you."

Then Tatsuya walked up and began furiously making out with Rias. Their tongues wrapping around each other and he began groping her massive breasts. He stopped and looked at him. His eyes. His fucking eyes were the same as that damn dragon's. His body began to contort and his bones were cracking. His arms elongated into wings and two tails came out the back. He kept growing until standing over Issei was the Dragon. The Dragon smirked and breathed fire to Issei.

_Gasp!_

Issei woke up sweat all over his body. It was morning. He felt better than he did yesterday due to the pain finally subsiding just a little bit. He made his way down when he heard Ddraig shout at him.

**[Partner hide. There multiple signatures downstairs. It might be them. This could be a chance to get information.]**

Issei hid at the top of the stairs and saw Asia, Xenovia, Ravel, and Koneko sitting on the couch.

"Wow, he gave those to you", Asia said smiling.

"Yeah, he's sweet and he asked me out. Our first date is on Friday", Xenovia said, "How about you, Asia? You and Eren doing okay. Maybe you guys could go on a double date with me and Yuu sometime."

Asia's respones was to hide her red face behind her hands. Ravel and Koneko laughed and she fixed them a look.

"Asia-senpai… daring", Koneko responded with a slight smirk on her face.

"At least I'm not trying to fight over a guy unlike you and Ravel. I heard that you were holding hands with a second year named Hiruko and then, Ravel came in and kissed him in front of you", Asia fired back.

Ravel started stuttering and turned red while Koneko looked away.

"So what do you like about him anyway?"

"He's not a pervert. You know I hate perverts. Pervert-senpai is the worst."

"C'mon now, don't be too mean to Issei", Xenovia said. Issei smiled. At least someone had his back.

"Despite it being true. However, he's still a nice guy so that kind of counters it I guess", with those words, his heart fell. Each word cracked his already broken heart.

"That's only one good though", Ravel said.

"Yeah, what Yakitori said. Everything else is bad", Koneko agreed.

Asia giggled at their banter. She began her tale of how she and Eren went to the arcade.

Issei retreated to his room not wanting to hear more. He climbed out his window and headed to the grove. His mind kept replaying the words they said and what he saw yesterday.

"_Was it all a lie? Did they even love me?", _Issei thought.

"I was just a meat shield. A tool they used to comfort themselves. Everything they felt was all a lie. A FUCKING LIE!", Issei screamed. A black energy mixed with red and green lights exploded from his body.

**Kuoh Town**

Everyone in Kuoh felt it.

The dark, evil, and cold feeling that just enveloped their whole town. People felt goosebumps and some started hyperventilating. But as quickly as it came, it vanished. Some were lucky enough to faint but others would know.

Something happened. The beginning of something big. Everyone supernatural or not felt it. How could they not, the sun was blotted out and the wind was too cold even for Fall.

Inside Kuoh College Division, Tatsuya let out a breath which turned to mist upon exiting his mouth. His window was frosting over. _Impossible, even for Fall , it's too cold_, he thought.

He looked to Rias and Akeno. They were frozen as if death had come to claim them. He was sure they felt it. Who couldn't. He looked out and wiped away some frost from the window.

Back at Hyoudou Mansion, Ravel, Asia, Koneko, and Xenovia felt it. They were rooted to their spots. The foremost feeling in their minds was fear. Utter fear. Whatever this was they felt was angry. They didn't dare report this out of fear for whatever thing was out there.

As the cold left, they still felt it. That feeling. Hopelessness. Death. Fear. A wet spot formed on the couch where Asia sat.

The sun began to shine again but things were never the same after.

**With Issei**

Issei tried not to scream. Black flames licked his hands and the ground was cracking from the pressure of this oppressive dark energy. Issei looked at the sky and saw the sun was blocked by the clouds. His eyes were different. His irises were green and his sclera became pitch black with a crimson tint. Letting his dark emotions control him, he summoned Boosted Gear. An action that surprised and terrified Ddraig.

_I who am about to awaken._

Ddraig's eyes widened. He knew what was about to happen. He thought they got rid of it after Great Red and Ophis granted Issei **[Dragon Deification]** but it was still there.

The Juggernaut Drive.

_Am the Heavenly Dragon who stole the principles of Domination from God_

**[Shit! Issei, snap out of it!]**, Ddraig yelled desperately at his partner. Noticing the next line in the chant was coming up he began yelling again.

_I laugh at the Infinite. I grieve at the Dream._

**[Damnit Issei! Don't do this! Innocent people will die! Do you wish to have that type of blood on your hands!]**

**[I know you're suffering and I know you want revenge but this isn't the way to do things. If you do, you can never take it ba-]**

_I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination_

**[Issei! Don't do this please! You're the greatest possessor of Boosted Gear. The one with the most potential. My best friend]**

**[Please! I don't lose you too! Think of Irina!]**, Ddraig yelled out.

_I shall sin-_

The chant stopped. Issei fell to the ground breathing heavily. Irina. Ddraig was right. He wasn't alone. Kiba. Ddraig. Irina. He couldn't abandon them like that.

"_Thanks Ddraig",_ Issei said through pants.

**[Anytime.]**

**[So. What now?]**

"_We have to remove these pieces. But first, let me pass out."_

Ddraig laughed. His partner was full of surprises. He thought back to when Issei was activating the Drive. What was that?

_**[That energy felt familiar. Dark but not evil. If he can master that power, he'll be as strong as Albion and I in our primes. Maybe stronger. Rest, Issei. We'll get these damned pieces out of you. Don't worry.]**_, Ddraig thought before slowly repairing his partner's body.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

"So, the first one awakens", a male voice said. On a chair, a man, with dark skin and white hair, sat there. He wore a bull shaped mask and wore dark clothing.

"You two!", as soon as he said this, two shadowy beings, one male, one female appeared in the room.

"The plan is in motion. With the First awakening, the others will follow. Find them. It's time", the male voice said.

"Of course, but if I may ask, why so many", the female asked.

"Yeah, how which one is right?", the male said.

The being paused and looked at them through his mask. After a few moments of silence, he replied, "All of them were compatible with the Blood. But only one of them will be the Special Child that we need. The very Special Child. Now go."

"Yes my lord!" they replied simultaneously and teleported from the room.

The being extended his senses to Kuoh and felt an energy he hadn't felt in a long time and shivered. He then smiled.

"Azrael. So that's where she was. Looks like Madre was right."

In Kuoh Academy, a woman with white hair and eyes with pitch black irises starred in the distance towards Issei's location. She too sensed it. She spread her fourteen silver wings and felt another power. One she hadn't felt since the Holy War.

"Beelzebub. I hope you're ready Little Dragon. A war is coming and I fear that you will be stuck in the middle."

* * *

**That's it for today guys. Remember, like and follow if you enjoy and please, smash that review button. How am I supposed to know how you guys feel so I can improve. Remember make it a great day(night) or not, the choice is not yours!~**

***This a Repost.***

**I got rid of the insults Rias and Akeno said. Just stay with me here.**


	3. Alone

**Pyre: Alright, I didn't expect this story to pick up. Shout out and virtual cookie to Siegfried Salazar for finding out what inspired the intro. Good Omens is a good miniseries you guys should give it a try. Now, time for disclaimer. Raccoon Girl.**

**Raphtalia: *sigh* I'm only doing this because Naofumi-sama was payed 500 gold pieces. CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD and all its characters are owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

Issei sighed. It's been a few days since his little outburst in the Grove, which he has taken to calling it. The Grove was a small glade just west of the main estate. It was a nice little area with a small pond. It had several large trees obscuring the area from view. In the span of two days, Issei had been there at least five times. It was just so peaceful there. He could take his mind off of everything that happened. Issei walked back to his house. When he opened the door, he saw Koneko sitting on the couch playing Mortal Kombat XI. The minute he walked in Koneko turned her head and made eye contact. He left quickly and headed upstairs. If he stayed, Issei would have seen a small tinge of worry in Koneko's eyes.

He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His face fell when he saw it. Eight circles on his torso. Each circle had a web of black veins coming off of it. It reminded him of an infection. The Pieces had been eating away at his life force as Ddraig had told him. He had said it was due to Trihexa leaving some of its corruptive energy inside the pieces. Ddraig had theorized that the trigger for this "corruption" was Issei's mental instability. With his life force waning day by day, Issei noticed that he had begun to tire easily. He had lost several pounds and looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. His eyes had lost their light and had a constant look of hopelessness.

**[You're gonna be okay partner]**, Ddraig said to Issei trying to console him. Issei tried to believe Ddraig's words but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to believe it.

"I hope so. I gotta get ready for school. It is a Monday after all", Issei said more to himself than to anyone.

Ddraig was worried for his partner. Issei was becoming weaker with each passing hour. He had to find a way to remove those damn pieces from his body. Preferably without killing him. The only problem with that was that the pieces were bonded to his soul and currently the only things keeping him alive as well the things that are killing him.

_**[Issei. I swear on my status as a Heavenly Dragon that I will find a way to save you]**_, Ddraig swore to himself.

* * *

**October 13, 2019, Kuoh Academy, 8:35 A.M**

Issei walked into class knowing the looks he will get from his fellow classmates. He mentally prepared himself and opened the door to Class 3-B. The talking stopped the minute he walked in. People looked at him, their faces frozen in shock and some had horror etched all over their face.

Murayama walked up to him with an extremely worried look on her face. She may not have liked Issei's perverted antics but that doesn't mean she wanted to see him… like this. He looked like a damn skeleton with skin.

"Issei, are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. I'm okay", Issei replied. He gave a grin that the entire class could instantly tell was fake. Issei walked past her and sat in his usual seat by the window. Matsuda and Motohama walked up to Issei and gave him worried looks.

"Dude, you need to go to the nurse", Matsuda said. Motohama nodded his head furiously in agreement. Issei gave them a reassuring smile and said,

"I'm fine guys. You don't need to worry"

For some reason, they didn't believe him and just nodded mutely before returning to their own seats.

From his own seat, Kiba looked at Issei. He had gotten a call from Irina during one of his contracts saying that she couldn't reach Issei. Phone or communication circle. From the tone of her voice, she was nearly hysterical and stated that she was coming home right away when Kiba filled her in on the situation. Now, he knew why. Issei looked horrible. He looked like he had been starved for several months despite it only being two days. Kiba squinted and saw something at the base of Issei's neck. A black mark that seemed to writhe underneath his skin as if it was alive. He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Amaranth-sensei walk in. It was a shock when he learned that she was Issei and Mitsuki's babysitter. She was followed by Issei's twin, Mitsuki Hyoudou.

People took to calling her the** Princess of Kuoh** in contrast to his own, Prince of Kuoh. Mitsuki was beautiful with long, luscious brown hair, hazel brown eyes like that of Issei's, pouty lips, and a great curvy figure. She was polite, helpful, and kind. Mitsuki had often looked at her brother with longing as if she was begging for forgiveness. They had met when she was first reincarnated long before Issei. It was during their first year when the Agares Heiress, Seekvaira, came looking for members. Mitsuki was chosen due to their mutual love of robotics and she just so happened to be the wielder of the Longinus Tier Sacred Gear, Telos Karma.

He noticed her and Amaranth-sensei look at Issei in mute horror. Worry ever present on their faces. Coughing, Amaranth-sensei told Mitsuki to sit and she took her seat next to her twin.

When they were kids, Mitsuki wasn't always the best sister to her twin. She was the apple of her parents' eyes and thus, was rather spoiled. She had driven away all his friends with the exception of Irina when they were younger. Irina. The girl hated her guts when they were little. Now, they were best friends but she knew that Issei would always be Irina's "super bestie better than the restie" as Irina had poetically put it. Mitsuki knew better and honestly, she was happy. Here was a girl who loved her brother with all her heart and she knew Issei felt the same. It was one of the reasons he wanted a harem. So that he could feel that love.

Issei felt his twin's and his teacher's eyes on him. He knew they were worried but he just smiled at them and Ashley started class lecturing on something about plants and how her last name was one. It was his favorite. The Amaranth, the Bleeding Flower. Its name fit how he was feeling physically and mentally right now.

"Issei!" He snapped his eyes to the front. Az-nee had called on him.

"Issei, what is the plant whose scientific name is Amaranthus cruentus?", Ashley asked.

Issei smiled a little. He had just been thinking of that plant.

"Red Amaranth, Amaranth-sensei", Issei replied.

"Where does it normally grow?"

"It grows in tropical regions I think?"

"Correct. Red Amaranth is a staple grain used in various countries across the world such as Mexico and some countries in Africa", Ashley went on and on about the different uses of the Amaranth family. He tuned her voice out and heard Ddraig's voice in his head.

**[Partner, are you okay?]**, Ddraig asked. He had been running a diagnostic over Issei's health and found that Issei's organs were rapidly deteriorating.

"_Lay it on me",_ Issei relayed to him as if knowing what Ddraig actually wanted to talk about.

**[We need to call someone with more expertise on Evil Pieces. You need to call Ajuka or Azazel. They would know more than we do. That and we have a limited amount of time]**

Issei tensed up at Ddraig's tone. It sounded grim and what did he mean by limited amount of time?

"_Umm, Ddraig? You're scaring me a little. What do you mean by 'limited time'?", _Issei asked Ddraig.

**[I mean that at the rate your organs and life force are deteriorating, you'll be dead at the end of the month. My guess is after 2 weeks, you'll start feeling more hopeless than you already are.]**

"_I can hear them you know. The Pieces. Whispering to me. About how I'm worthless because I couldn't keep the women I love from leaving me", _Issei told him.

Ddraig went silent at this. It had gotten worse and it's only been two days.

"_I'll call them after school. See if they have anything", _Issei said.

"Aniki." Issei looked up and saw his sister staring at him worriedly. They didn't have the best relationship but Issei loved his sister with all his heart. He saw her beautiful eyes looking at him with worry.

"Mii-chan. What is it?" Issei said.

"Are you okay? I haven't seen you all weekend and now, you're here and…", she trailed off.

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to be okay", Issei said as he patted her head. She pouted at him and he smiled. He missed this. They haven't been this close since they were six years old. Issei put up his pinky.

Mitsuki's eyes grew wide as they hadn't done this since they were kids. She linked her own pinky with his and waited for Issei.

"I solemnly swear that I, Issei Hyoudou, will be better by the end of the week. Cross my heart and hope to eat cake" Issei said with a grin.

Mitsuki giggled at her brother's antics.

"Issei-kun."

"Ah", Issei said.

"Kiba-kun", Mitsuki said.

"How are"

"You doing"

"Today?", Issei and Mitsuki finished together.

Kiba smiled. Their twin telepathy was something made most people either creeped out or amazed. The Hyoudou Twins were from what he could understand were repairing their relationship and were closer than they had been.

"Irina called me. She said you wouldn't pick up and she's getting worried. She also said she'll be back tomorrow," Kiba said. Issei smiled. Irina referred to him as her "Super Bestie Better Than The Restie". A sentiment he shared with her.

"I'll call her after school,'' he replied. Just as he replied, he began coughing. He looked at his hand and saw blood. He saw his sister covering her mouth and tears welling up.

"ANIKI! You need to go to the Nurse's office now!" she said and began dragging him out of the room with Kiba hot on their heels. They entered the room and the nurse had Issei stay there for the rest of the day. Mitsuki and Kiba left as they had to head back but Mitsuki promised to come back and walk him home.

* * *

**Cafeteria, Kuoh Academy, 11:45 AM**

His name was Hiruko Yukikaze. He was a second year student in Kuoh Academy. And right now, he felt as if he was in Heaven. Or possibly, Hell. Next to him were two of the most beautiful girls in his year. Koneko Toujou. A white haired girl that everyone referred to as the Mascot. She was sitting next to him munching on sweets. She, revealed herself to be a Nekomata, a Nekoshou to be precise.

On his right was Ravel Phenex. She had blonde hair with bangs framing her face and the rest styled in twin drills. She had a much larger chest than Koneko and she was referred to by the girl as Yakitori. Did I forget to mention she was part of House Phenex? Yup, Hiruko was a lucky man.

He was told along with three other boys by _the_ Rias Gremory. People say she's from Europe. Her red hair. Her long legs. Her massive breasts. She was every man's wet dream. She had told them that they had Sacred Gears and revealed them to the world of the Supernatural though the men named Eren and Tatsuya weren't surprised. Eren was actually the son of a witch from Britain and Tatsuya, the son of two former onmyouji from Kyoto. He still remembered the moment she told them.

**Flashback**

_Hiruko walked with Koneko and Ravel to the old school building. They entered and upon reaching the second floor, he saw three other men and the iconic women of the school. Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. He recognized them immediately. Two of the Four Great Ladies. Next to them was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He found out his name was Tatsuya Seimei._

_Sitting behind the desk was Asia Argento. He recognized her because of the Hyoudou Twins. He shivered. He remembered that one guy who hit on the female twin and was thrown across the hallway by the pervert. To this day, no one dared to look at her. He then saw the man he was just referring to. His name was apparently Eren Yatogami._

_On the couch, he saw the telltale blue hair of Xenovia Quarta. Next to her was a man with red hair and hazel eyes. He was Yuu Nakiri. Like him, his parents were normal._

_"Thank you all for coming. You are all here because not only are you our boyfriends." He saw the Argento girl look slightly uncomfortable at the mention. It seems that she was embarassed by the notion of public affection._

_"But because you all wield a very powerful tool. A Sacred Gear" she announced proudly. Yuu and Hiruko looked confused. Sacred Gear? The hell was that?_

_"WHAT!?" the other two men mentioned. Rias giggled. They were just like Issei. _

_Issei..., no, this was for him, Rias shook her head and went on to explain what she was._

_A devil. Everyone in this room was a devil._

_Eren and Tatsuya immediately stood on edge. Eren was reaching for a wand his mother had given him while Tatsuya reached for a talisman._

_Yuu and Hiruko were confused and thought it was a joke until it happened. There wings came out. A pair of batlike wings._

_"You're not here to steal our souls are you?" Rias giggled. That never got old._

_"No, that practice was abolished long before we were even born by the original Lucifer."_

_Rias spent the next thirty minutes explaining the function and purpose of Sacred Gears as well as why she decided to reveal their true natures now. Her brother had apparently told her of a tournament that they were going to vote on in a few days and now seemed to be a good time to get in some training. After that, she began explaining devil society and the ranking of power in the Supernatural World._

_"While every race has its own division of power, Devils, for example, go from Low Class, Mid Class, High Class, Ultimate Class, Satan Class, and Super Devils. The Supernatural World has established a Universal Ranking System mainly to identify criminals. The ranking goes as follows._

_"Low Class. Weak beings fall here. This is where you guys are currently but don't worry, you'll move up._

_"Mid Class. Most people in this room are in Mid Class power ranking." Everyone waved at them._

_"High Class. I, myself, am ranked as High Class in terms of power as well as Ravel._

_"Ultimate Class. A majority of the world's powerful beings are in this class. Ravel's older brother is a prime example._

_"Deity Class. The last rank. Beings who wield the power to fight Gods or are Gods in their own right. After that are the subdivisions. They go from D,C, B, A, S, and EX. They have there own subdivisions as well. As of right now, I am an AA Rank High Class Devil. Do you follow?" The men nodded. This woman in front of them was strong. Eren remembered his question. Hyoudou, both of them, were often seen hanging around here._

_"Are the Hyoudou Twins Devils too?"_

_Akeno nodded._

_"Issei is an SS Rank Ultimate Class Devil. Mitsuki is also an SS Rank Ultimate Class Devil," the boys were shocked. Hyoudou was even more powerful than the redhead. _

_"Anymore questions?" They shook their heads. _

_"Well, then let's discuss a training regimen..."_

**End Flashback**

All of his hairs stood on end. He had been taught to sense power by Ravel and Koneko and the power that just entered the cafeteria was monstrous. He remembered feeling Rias' power. It was massive. This one. If he could compare their powers, it would be like comparing an ant to a dinosaur. Hiruko turned to look and saw the Female Hyoudou Twin. She was the source of that monstrous power. She was walking with Kiba smiling and talking. The girl waved at them and the two girls next to him waved back. He sighed in relief as the bell rang. But he could never get that feeling out of his head. Fear.

* * *

**3:45 PM, Kuoh Town**

Mitsuki and Issei walked home in silence. He saw her sending him worried looks every now and then.

"Aniki", Mitsuki finally spoke up, "Seekvaira-sama is calling me out to prepare for something. She wouldn't say. I-"

"It's okay, Mii-chan. Go train, I'll be fine", Issei said.

Mitsuki just stared. She then sighed feeling tired. Something was wrong with her brother and she didn't know what.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah", he said.

"Okay, I'll walk you home, make you some dinner, and then head out", Mitsuki said.

Issei just smiled. Mitsuki really was the best. He would miss her when she left. They opened the gate and walked up the path to the estate in comfortable silence. After reaching the house and opening the door, Mitsuki ordered Issei to sit down while she made dinner. Mitsuki walked out after a couple of minutes and set down a plate of hamburger steak in front of them. They ate and made conversation, mostly about their kings though Mitsuki noticed that Issei hesitated to speak about Rias and filed it away for later.

"So any idea why Seekvaira-san is calling for a training session all of a sudden?" Issei asked his sister.

"Maybe for a Rating Game?" she said.

Issei furrowed his brow. If Seekvaira was calling her peerage members for training, then the others should too. He remembered Saji had walked to school looking like death and Tsubaki wasn't looking so well either. They must have been training like Seekvaira is planning to with her peerage.

The time came for her to head out to Agares Household. Issei said goodbye as his sister disappeared in a transportation circle. Issei closed the door and walked up the stairs to his room. He opened the communication circle and saw that he had 50 new messages all from Irina. He called her. Three rings later, a voice shouted from the circle.

"_ISSEI HYOUDOU!_ Why the hell didn't you answer my calls!" Irina screamed at him through the circle. Issei was thrown back into the wall.

"Hey Irina", Issei said trying to sound as cheerful as he possibly could.

"Isse-kun. Are you okay?" she asked noticing his voice. It sounded off.

Issei sighed. Of course, she would notice. Out of all the girls, Irina had known him the best. She knew everything about him just as he knew everything about her.

"Irina, I don't feel so good", Issei finally said. He relayed everything that happened up until now. After explaining everything, Irina said nothing. Issei waited for her response and could practically feel her anger building up. Yup, Mt. Irina was going to explode.

"_THOSE FILTHY DEVIL BITCHES. HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO YOU! YOU DID EVERYTHING! SACRIFICED EVERYTHING! YOU GAVE UP YOUR FUCKING ARM TO SAVE THAT RED HEADED WHORE FROM BECOMING SOME BLONDE DOUCHE'S SEX DOLL AND SHE DOES THIS TO YOU!" _Issei listened scared for his life as Irina yelled various obscenities over the channel. Irina never cursed before. If she was cursing, then she must be royally pissed off. He mentally made a note that after he got better, he would never make Irina angry ever again. Issei was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Irina say,

"So what will you do about your pieces? You can't keep them inside of you considering what they're doing to you", she asked.

"I'll call Azazel-sensei or Ajuka-sama after this", Issei said.

"Okay, I'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry Issei, you won't be alone for long and you'll have me and Ddraig."

**[She's right partner. You have me. You have her. Your sister. That Knight. And your babysitter]**, Ddraig chimed in.

"I'll see you tomorrow Irina. Good night, don't let the bedbugs bite", Issei said.

"Nighty night", Irina said as she cut the link.

**[You gonna call Azazel now?]**, Ddraig asked.

"Yeah", Issei said as he scrolled through his contacts until he reached the contact labeled "Fallen Bastard Sensei". Issei smiled at the contact. Azazel was much like a father to him more so than his own. He called him and waited for a response.

*_Ring*_

_*Ring*_

_*Ring*_

"Hello, this is Azazel, the sexiest male angel to ever exist and a god to women everywhere. You know what to do. After the blorp and I'll get back to you after the blorp. Blorp~", the answering machine said. Issei left a message and called Ajuka. His secretary picked up and said he was busy and to call back later. Before Issei could leave a message, she hung up. He grit his teeth in frustration. He tried calling Sirzechs. Nothing. Grayfia. Nothing. Serafall. Nothing. Kuroka. Not even a ring. Rossweisse. Hey, he was getting desperate. Issei slumped against a wall. He tried calling Azazel again and got the same goddamned voice message. He left more becoming more desperate with each message. Ddraig looked on sadly.

"Ddraig, what do we do now? We have no one right now. Kiba's out doing my contracts because the scarlet bitch made him and Irina won't be back until tomorrow. Gasper's at the hospital and Rossweisse is up north. We're alone in this," Issei said. The moment he said this a sharp pain shot through his chest. He curled up in a ball gritting his teeth as he tried not to scream.

"Please...someone save me..." Issei whispered in pain.

**[Partner! PARTNER! Dammit, partner hang in there!]** Ddraig yelled. He cursed to himself. He couldn't do a damn thing while Issei was here writhing in pain on the floor. He needed to find a way to get those damn pieces out of his body before it kills him but how? Ddraig had an idea. It was crazy but it just might work. All they needed to do was hold off until the Angel got home. Her skill in healing magic was mediocre at best but it would be enough to ensure his survival.

* * *

**Berlin, 8:47 AM**

Irina sighed as she cut the link and ended the call. Those filthy devil whores. She began to think of many different ways to murder them.

Rias's shoved in an oven naked and baked to perfection.

Akeno killed by electrocution. Poetic justice if she ever heard of one.

Kone-

"Irina", a voice called out bringing her out of her murder filled fantasies.

"Eh, Griselda-senpai", Irina said.

"Your wings were flickering. What's wrong?", Griselda asked. Irina was normally a cheerful girl and the only reason her wings flickered black was when she had thoughts about the Sekiryuutei.

"Nothing Griselda-senpai", she replied in a distant tone. Griselda frowned but she decided it was best if she didn't prod. Instead, she said,

"C'mon, we have to report back to Lord Michael and Lady Gabriel", Griselda said as she prepared a cross. The room was filled with light and the two arrived in the First Heaven. Heaven was a beautiful place. It wasn't a place of clouds like the humans would like to believe. It was more a city in an alternate realm parallel to Earth. The First Heaven or "The Waiting Room" was the first line of defense yet had a sense of home. It contained various houses, eateries, and shops all for the Brave Saints. There were massive walls and gates. Angels patrolled the walls 24/7. They walked to the Axis Mundi, an ever shifting dimensional pathway in Heaven that lead to the other levels. The Axis Mundi appeared differently to all people. To Irina, it appeared as a road with a night sky. After a few minutes, they arrived at the Sixth Heaven. There stood the Archangels and the Seraphim. Michael stood up, along with Gabriel. Michael was a very handsome man with long blonde hair and green eyes. He wore white and red robes with golden pauldrons and white sashes. On his back were twelve golden wings and a halo was atop his head. He was hailed as the most powerful Angel. Next to him stood, Gabriel, the beauty of Heaven. She had long blonde hair, green eyes, and a massive pair on her chest. She wore white robe and had twelve massive snow white and blue wings on her back. He motioned to the others that the meeting was over. The Seraphim and other Archangels began to teleport out to God knows where.

"Ara, Griselda, you're back", Gabriel said with her heavenly voice.

"Yes, my Lady. We have eliminated the stray", Griselda began her report. Irina zoned out and began thinking of how to help Issei. She wanted to tell her leaders and decided it would be best to tell them after the debrief. Griselda finally finished after 30 minutes with her just nodding along. Griselda bowed to her leaders and excused herself leaving Irina alone with the two Archangels.

"Michael-sama, I think something's wrong with Issei-kun", Irina said.

"Oh, why would you say that?", Michael said.

"He called me and told me that he entered the Juggernaut Drive", Irina said. Irina obviously left out several details of their conversation deciding that it would be better if they didn't know for now.

Michael and Gabriel's eyes widened. The Red Dragon Emperor activated the Juggernaut Drive. If so, then why didn't they feel it? Deciding to file it away for a later discussion with Sirzechs and Azazel, Michael said,

"Go to him, Irina. Rest up, then head there. He may need you."

"Thank you, Michael-sama", Irina beamed at him and made her way to the First Heaven to get some rest. After she left, Raphael walked in with his eyebrow raised. Raphael is a tall angel. He wears a green cape and had black hair with emerald green eyes. Under his cape, he wore a black shirt and black pants. Over his shirt was a metal breastplate with a small amethyst at the top. He carried a book with him as he always did. On his back were twelve chrome wings with a green tint.

"What was that about the Sekiryuutei going Juggernaut Drive?", Raphael asked his older brother and younger sister.

Gabriel looked down. She relayed to him everything Irina had told them and she watched as Raphael gain a shocked look on his face. If the situation was different, she would have laughed as her normally serious older brother was acting out of character.

"Raphael, do not tell anyone. We don't need word getting out to the other pantheons", Michael said to him.

Raphael didn't respond. He knew Michael was right. Word of something happening to the Sekiryuutei under their watch would have massive political backlash. He nodded and then asked,

"What now?"

"Az-chan is there in Kuoh watching over him. She reported the same thing. Irina just confirmed it for us. She also said something else…", Gabriel began to trail off.

Raphael once again raised an eyebrow. "What did she say?" he asked.

"She said that she felt him", Gabriel said.

"She said it was Beelzebub", Michael finally said.

"Him. What's he doing out in the open? He hasn't been active since World War 2", Raphael said. He didn't like where this was going. If Azrael saw fit to report Beelzebub's presence on Earth, then something was going on. The crafty bastard was planning something. He saw Michael walk over to the Viewing Pools.

"What is it Brother?", Raphael finally asked.

"I still can't find our niece or our older sister", Michael said.

"It's so strange. She just doesn't just disappear. Ellie made herself guardian of the Physical Realms long ago. She wouldn't abandon the Earth now," Gabriel said.

"But the way we lost contact. We lost contact with our niece a few years ago granted we aren't at full power so she could have just concealed her presence", Raphael replied to his sister.

"If we were at full power, we would have easily annihilated that Cosmic Horror rather than seal it away. We would have been able to find our sister and her daughter", Michael said. Raphael knew he was right. Ever since they spent a majority of their power fixing Heaven long ago, the Archangels weren't as powerful as they once were. They were still recharging their power. The battle with the Apocalypse Beast didn't help in any regard as they were set back but they were getting there. In a few years time with their sister's help, Raphael estimated they would be at full power again.

"For now, we can only monitor things", Gabriel said.

"I'll send my Queen to survey things", Raphael said and prepared to call his Queen. A tanuki youkai appeared in the Sixth Heaven. She had brown hair and red eyes with two fluffy dog like ears on her head and a bushy tail. She wore a simple white and red long sleeve mini dress and a metal breastplate. She had ten wings on her back.

"Raphael-sama. What do you wish of me?" the woman said.

"Risa. I need you to go and investigate something for me and my siblings on Earth. Report any findings to Azrael. You'll be hunting an old foe of ours", Raphael said handing her a folder. She took it, opened it and read its contents then bowed before leaving. Risa then proceeded to teleport to Earth to begin her mission.

"Stay strong Issei. You have other people who need you", Michael said as the Pool rippled into an image of a sleeping Issei.

* * *

**Hyoudou Residence, 10:15 PM**

Issei woke up after crying himself to sleep. He was beginning to lose it. His mind was rapidly deteriorating to the point where he began seeing hallucinations now. Each one worsened his mental state.

First, it was Rias and Tatsuya having sex on his bed. Each moan she made drove him mad.

Then, it was that damned dragon.

But the most horrifying one for him was Irina. He was walking out of the bathroom when he saw blood flowing out of his bedroom door. He burst in and saw something that made him throw up. Irina's head was mounted on a pike in the middle of his room. Her cold, lifeless eyes stared back at him. Her mouth moved and she began to speak begging Issei to save her. He clutched his head tears streaming down his face constantly saying, "She's not real. She's not real. She's not real."

He repeated this mantra until he heard her head say, "Issei-kun, please don't leave me alone. Come be with me."

Issei looked up at the head as it smiled warmly at him. He considered its offer. No, not it. Irina. She was calling to him. She wanted to-

**[PARTNER! SNAP OUT OF IT! SHE ISN'T REAL],** Ddraig roared. Issei blinked and the head was gone. He fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes. His mouth was in a demented grin as he began to laugh and sob at the same time. Ddraig could only watch as his partner was in hysterics. He decided it was now or never.

**[Partner. I have an idea. One could help you out of this situation]**, Ddraig said.

"_I have nothing left to lose. What's this crazy plan of yours?",_ Issei said finally calming down.

**[Have you ever heard of the theory of opposing forces?]**, Ddraig asked him.

"_I think I heard Az-nee mention something about it once", _Issei said.

**[Well, then what is it?]**, Ddraig said.

"_The theory of opposing forces is that if two opposite forces meet. The stronger one will win and push back the other force."_

**[Right. So the Pieces are currently winning more and more by the hour. That's the reason why you're beginning to hallucinate. Why your pains are becoming more intense. If you don't expel the Pieces, they'll devour your life force and you will die.]**

**[So right now, you need to increase the amount of energy you have against the Pieces. Right now, Issei, you not only have my draconic energy coursing through you but this mysterious energy in your blood.]**

"_Huh. What energy?"_

**[A dark energy exists in your blood. By the looks of it, it's been there since you were a baby. Strangely, Mitsuki doesn't have this energy.]**

"_So you not only want me to increase my draconic energy but also mess with a power I had no idea existed in my blood and use it against the pieces!?"_

**[Yes]**

"_Ddraig, you crazy bastard! The Evil Pieces are connected to my soul. One false move and I die and you'll be sent through the System again. Not to mention, the off chance of you dying with me."_

**[Yes, I know that. But what can I say? I'm a soul inside a Gear. Denied the Afterlife. The Dragoness I love tries to kill me all the time.]**, Ddraig said, **[Dying with you. My best friend and best host is certainly better than waiting for you to die when I could have done something about it.]**

"_You crazy bastard", _Issei said. He stood up and clenched his fist. A new fire danced in his eyes. He felt it. The energy Ddraig was talking about. It felt like the energy devils had but older, ancient, dark, and most importantly, powerful.

"_Let's do this. Backing out now would be an insult to you. I couldn't have asked for a better partner and a better frie- no a better brother. How do we do this?",_ Issei said to Ddraig.

Ddraig smirked inside the Boosted Gear. His partner was back.

**[Alright, it's crazy but it might work]**, Ddraig said.

"_We both have nothing to lose other than our lives. So tell me about our 'Suicide Attempt'"_, Issei said.

**[Heh. Alright, listen up. You need to sever the Pieces from their source of 'food' per say. You need to cut the flow of your life force from the Pieces. Then at the same time, connect it to your aura where there, your draconic power and this new power will weaken the Pieces and your power reserve will increase.]**, Ddraig explained.

Issei stood there dumbfounded. He replayed what Ddraig just said to him in his mind over and over again. Finally he said,

"_Basically, you want me to do the equivalent of open heart surgery on my own SOUL! Let me go over it to see if I got it. You want me to sever the Pieces from my life force which could potentially kill me in the span of time it takes me to connect them to my aura. How long do I have anyway?"_ Issei said to Ddraig.

**[Don't worry about it. You'll have long enough but it'll be tough with just the power you got from Ophis and Great Red healing you. It'll maybe buy me enough time to reconnect your soul to your aura.]**, Ddraig explained.

"_So what happens to you? Assuming we survive,"_ Issei asked.

**[It'll be like I went through looking for a new host. I'll enter a deep sleep, theoretically of course. You still have to survive.]**

"_What are our numbers of making it out of this alive?"_

**[Almost zero. But we have a chance to increase that probability.]**

Issei raised an eyebrow. A chance.

"_A chance?"_ he asked.

**[The angel. She knows healing magic right?]**

"_Yeah, but Irina only knows enough to-" _Issei got what Ddraig was getting at. Irina could help keep him stable while Ddraig and Issei performed open soul surgery.

"_Alright, Irina gets here tomorrow morning. Where do we do this? The amount of energy being released isn't exactly small I bet. It'll be noticed by every supernatural being in town especially them. And I can't exactly use a transportation circle. You know, body currently being eaten alive by my Trihexa pieces and all that", _Issei said.

**[Hahaha. Trihexa Pieces, huh. Alright, have your angel friend do it. Transportation Circles only use a small amount of energy. Even smaller if you don't specify a location.]**, Ddraig said.

"_It's been an honor serving with you, General Ddraig",_ Issei said.

**[And to you, Lieutenant Hyoudou. Hmm, we got a day. You should write a will or suicide note or something.]**, Ddraig said.

"_That sounds like a good idea. Then, people will know what happened if they want to know how I died",_ Issei said. Issei found a recording device Azazel gave him to record his thoughts. He turned it on, began recording, said his piece, and turned it off. Issei placed on top of his desk. Issei looked at his reflection on the stainless steel surface of the recording device. He wasn't going to die. He would make sure of it. His heart might be broken but a part of it still remained. He would live. For his friends. His family. For Irina. For a future they would have together. Issei walked to the window and stretched his hand out as if he grabbing the Moon. He remembered a lyric from a song he once heard. Rising, if he remembered correctly.

**[Partner. What are you thinking about?]**, Ddraig asked seeing Issei silent.

"_I will live Ddraig. We'll make it out of this together. We'll catch that dream together someday soon, Ddraig. Irina"_, Issei said, the fire in his heart and eyes now becoming a raging inferno. He felt his blood respond to him and he saw something on his outstretched palm. A black and red flame. But the color wasn't what got to Issei. It was the fire itself. This fire would be a symbol for him. A flame will never be snuffed out by anyone else. Yes, he will survive. He will be there with his friends to catch that dream. That dream of peace for him. For Mitsuki. For Kiba. For Gasper. For Rossweisse. For Ddraig. For everyone. For her.

Ddraig smiled at his partner's resolve. His determination was infectious. They would need that determination for tomorrow. For tomorrow, their greatest challenge since Trihexa would begin.

**[A flame, huh.]**

* * *

**London, England**

A woman walked over and sat on the couch. She looked at her brother. He was eating dinner.

"Can't you just leave their food alone?", she snapped.

He looked at her with pot roast around his lips. She looked disgusted. He rolled his eyes and said, "C'mon sis. We can't just let this food rot. It's a waste. Plus, this family makes a mean roast right ma?"

He looked at the mutilated corpse of the mother laying on the floor. Her jaw was dislocated with her tongue ripped out. Her torso was ripped open and her organs were spilled all over the floor. Her face was nearly untouched save for her eyes and mouth. He grinned and shoved a spoonful in her mouth.

"Whatever, now what do we have here," she said. Her smile twisted into a sick grin. Before her were two people, an eighteen year old boy and his little sister of about six or seven stood there. The boy wrapped his arms around the girl. Without warning, the woman grabbed the girl. The boy charged but the woman glanced at him and he went flying and was pinned to the wall. She caressed the girl's face as tears began streaming out.

"Please miss. Let us go", the girl said beginning to sob.

"Aww, you said let me go. Tell you what hun. I'll let you choose. I kill you and let your brother go or kill your brother and let you go. You have ten seconds," she said.

"Please! We'll do anything!"

"Ten"

"No no no!"

"Nine"

The girl was still sobbing and begging.

"Eight"

"No!"

"Seven"

The girl punched her in the face. This surprised the woman and she let go. Her older brother fell and he grabbed her and run.

"Lily, don't look, Just keep your he- Urk!", he looked down and saw a massive blade of pure darkness jutting out of his chest. The blade warped and the boy's body was lifted and shredded to pieces. His blood rained on the little girl who watched on as her big brother was ripped in front of her.

"That wasn't very nice little girl", the woman calmly walked towards her. She stared at the pieces that was once her brother and then let out a blood curdling scream. Her sclera turned pitch black and her blue eyes shined and pulsated with power. The woman had to cover her face since the girl was emitting so much power that she was practically glowing, a violet light was shining around her. All of a sudden, she was wrapped in a black mist and disappeared.

"Tch", the woman scoffed. She escaped. The little girl was the one of them then. Her brother walked to her looking satisfied.

"She got away huh",he said before taking another bite out of the mother's arm.

"Are you eating the mom?" she said to her brother in an irritated manner.

"Yes?"

She sighed. She really hated her brother sometimes. He could be such a glutton.

"Whatever, plenty of fish in the sea as they say. Let's find the others but first, we gotta erase the crime scene", the woman said. She stretched out her palm and a black flame manifested. She let forth a deluge of black fire all over the house burning it down. The two exited the house and disappeared. They didn't notice a pair of red eyes watching them. Risa sat their trying to process what she just saw. Those two. Power rolled off of them in waves. And the little girl. What was she? The power she had matched that of a C-Rank Ultimate Class Being.

_I need to report this to Azrael-sama_, she thought and flew towards Kuoh, Japan at breakneck speeds.

* * *

**Hyoudou Residence, 9:30 AM, October 14, 2019**

Irina stood outside the gates to Hyoudou Manor. She took one step and opened the gate. Right now, one thought was on her mind.

_Issei-kun. Wait for me, I'm almost there._

She opened the door upon reaching the main house. Irina walked up the stairs taking note that the girls and Kiba must be at school. She walked all the way to Issei's room with each step serving to only increase her fear and worry.

_Will Ise-kun still be alive? No, Irina, he is. He's waiting for me in his room_, she thought. Irina gently opened the door to Issei's room. There he was waiting for her with a grin and a determined gaze.

"Irina", he said after they spent a minute staring into each other's eyes. A blush across his face. He always thought she was beautiful but now to Issei, Irina was the most beautiful woman on the planet.

"Hai, Ise-kun", Irina said her face equally red but also worried at the same time. Issei looked terrible. He was skinny, his face was hollow, and Issei was extremely pale. She could see a pattern of black lines criss crossing across his arms and climbing his neck.

"Are you ready?" Issei asked her.

"For what?", Irina was now confused. What was he talking about?

"To initiate Operation: Kill Myself!", Issei said with a shit eating grin.

"Eh?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading this chapter. A few of you asked to make them longer. Don't worry. They'll start getting longer after the next chapter. Brownies for anyone who can figure out what show the song title is from. Now, remember, make it a great day or not, the choice is not yours.**

***This is a Repost***

**Okay, I hope you like the point of view of one of the boys. Also, you may have noticed an inkling of the reason they did this.**


	4. Operation: KMS

**Pyre: So shout out to NexusPrime42 for suggesting adding other gods not seen in canon. I'll make a poll for you guys to vote on which gods you want to appear. The top 5 will make it. I'll also make a separate poll for the top 5 to see which ones you want to appear in later chapters as a sort of adviser or mentor figure like Bobby Singer from Supernatural to Issei and his friends or if you want Azazel to keep playing that role. Also, feel free to PM me if you have any ideas or people you want to see in the story. If you want a character from another fandom, I'll have to tweak them to fit the DxD world, but please don't suggest someone like Aizen or Naruto. They won't work/ More along the lines of someone like Percy Jackson or something. Okay now kid, do the disclaimer.**

**Mitsuki: Okay. CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD and all its characters are owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

**Sorry about deleting the other three chapters. I needed to fix the dates.**

* * *

[Ddraig talking]

[Ddraig thinking]

{Albion talking}

{Albion thinking}

Mental Communication

"Regular Dialogue"

Attacks/Spells

* * *

**Hyoudou Residence, October 14, 2019, 9:45 AM**

It was a peaceful morning in Kuoh Town. The skies were clear, the trees were beginning to change color, and a crisp breeze blew throughout the entire town. Birds were chirping and flying in the sky. All in all, it was a perfect morning. That was until an ear piercing scream reverberated throughout the entire block.

People turned their heads towards the Hyoudou Residence. They shook their heads. The people there were always such oddballs. They continued about their days.

"_WHAT THE FUCK ISSEI!",_ Irina began yelling at him.

"_YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF. WHAT HAPPENED TO REMOVING THE PIECES!_", Irina demanded. She was moving closer and closer to his face as Issei inched away from her until his back hit the wall literally.

"Irina, it's not that bad", Issei said trying the placate her. He grabbed her hands trying to calm her down.

"_THE HELL YOU MEAN BY THAT? YOU ARE TRYING TO-"_, she was cut off by Issei.

"I'm not trying to kill myself. I'm going to remove the Pieces. But the way I'll do it is tantamount to suicide", Issei explained to her. The way he said it didn't calm her down in the slightest. She looked at him with a frown still present on her face.

"So, what are your chances?" she asked. Irina didn't like it but this was currently the only plan they had. Issei had told her that no one was picking up.

"Ddraig said that it was 0.00000000000000000000000000000000-"

"Okay I get it. So close to zero, it might as well be zero."

"Ddraig said we have a way to increase that chance though."

This caught her attention. A way to increase his survival rating. She wondered what it was. Irina was about to ask when Issei finally spoke up.

"It's you. You're our increased chance at surviving", Issei said to her still holding her hands.

Irina looked at him owlishly. Her. She was his ticket to survival. Irina felt her heart flutter at the thought. But at the same time, she felt apprehensive. What did he mean by that?

Issei looked at her and knew exactly what she was thinking. Deciding to break the silence, he began to say,

"Ddraig said that your healing magic would be a big help."

"Why not Asia? With her Twilight Healing, surely you would have a better chance than my sub par healing skills", Irina said to him. She was unsure that she would be able to help him with her level of healing. She was still learning from Raphael-sama after all.

"Ddraig said that you only need to keep me stable while he and I go inside and do our thing. With the Regeneration Power from Ophis and Great Red and you keeping me stable, my chance of survival will increase exponentially", Issei explained to her.

Irina adopted a thinking position. With her healing magic and his regeneration keeping him stable, he would have a better chance at surviving. But his survival would depend solely on her power reserves and stamina. Did he consider that factor?

"What happens when I run out of power?" she asked.

Issei looked at her. He hadn't thought of that. This just got a lot harder. Irina was strong yes, but her reserves were nowhere near as massive as Rias's, Akeno's or Asia's. Ddraig, who had been watching, saw fit to speak up.

**[Inside Issei's drawer is a pill developed by the Grigori Governor for the final battle. He only used one during his battle with Apophis. The pill from what we heard is designed to temporarily boost your energy reserves to five times the normal amount. There are currently 6 pills left. Two should be enough to get us through this.]**, Ddraig said.

Hope flew back into the duo's eyes. Issei immediately walked to his drawer and grabbed the pill bottle from underneath the false bottom. The only side effect was that the user was drained afterwards. Consuming two will cause Irina to be in bed for at least 3 days. He looked at her and saw a look. She wasn't backing out of this. Irina walked over to him and snatched the bottle from his hands. She gave him a grin showing that she was ready. Issei smiled. The girl would stand with him through Hell and all.

"Irina, we need to get out of here", Issei said.

"Yeah but where", she asked.

"You need to make a transportation circle but don't specify the location. That way we would be practically untraceable", Issei said. Irina nodded and prepared a circle. She helped Issei step onto it and in a flash of light, they were gone.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, 10:25 AM**

Kiba glanced back at Issei's empty desk. He sighed knowing that Issei wouldn't be here. Mitsuki was on an excused absence as well. Amaranth-sensei looked worried the entirety of the lecture. The girls weren't a big help either. They were with their new boyfriends.

Kiba remembered last night. He had gotten home exhausted from the contracts. As he made his way to his room, he saw Issei's door open. He peeked in and saw a sight that would haunt him forever.

**Flashback**

"_So tired", Kiba said walking up the stairs. He walked past the various rooms before hearing something strange coming from Issei's room. He walked back to Issei's door. It was slightly ajar. He slowly opened it. His eyes grew wide with horror._

_Issei was in a fetal position rocking back and forth on the floor. His eyes were blank and lifeless. His mouth in a sort demented grin. He was halfway between a sobbing and laughing. He couldn't exactly hear what he was saying but he swore he could make out Issei muttering,_

"_This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real."_

_Kiba immediately formed a transportation circle and teleported to the ORC. He saw Asia sitting at the desk with a boy standing next to her. They were talking animatedly and Asia was blushing slightly. Kiba was confused. Wasn't Asia dating Issei? What the hell was going on. He coughed to get their attention. The two jumped and turned to look at him._

"_Ah. Kiba-kun. I didn't see you there", she said rubbing the back of her head._

"_It's alright, Asia-san. Who's this?" he said gesturing to the boy. He was about 5 '10, black hair, blue eyes, and a smile that made him look approachable. He had a good build but he clearly wasn't built for stamina. Short-distance runner perhaps? He remembered what he came here for._

"_Asia, I think Issei is not well. You need to call Rias and get him some help", Kiba said._

_Asia's eyes widened ever so slightly but quickly returned to normal. Her eyes hardened and she spoke in a tone Kiba never thought was possible from the girl._

"_Issei-san is okay. Please don't bother me unless it's something important", she said in a cold professional tone._

_Kiba gulped. Asia regained her smile and began to introduce him. The boy's name was Eren. Kiba saw Eren looking at him. Sizing him up. Unable to stomach the scene in front of him. Kiba excused himself and went to find the other girls. The situation was the same._

**End Flashback**

"Yuuto", he heard the teacher calling him. He looked at the clock. It was lunch time.

"Follow me", she said. Kiba got up and followed Amaranth-sensei to her office.

Asia watched as Kiba followed Amaranth-sensei out of the room. She looked down and remembered what he had told her last night. When Rias had come to them about her plan, she was hesitant. After all the Lord God commanded, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." She may be a devil but she was still a follower of His teachings. However, Rias had reassured her and the rest of the girls that their relationships with Issei would be stronger for it and anything they learned would be a bonus. A hand was on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Xenovia and Yuu standing there with Eren. They all put their desks together and sat down for lunch.

Kiba followed Amarantth- sensei to her office. They entered the office upon reaching it. She sat down behind her desk and motioned for him to sit in a chair. He sat down and noticed several pictures on her desk.

One was of her and six others. His sensei looked slightly younger but she still had her white hair and obsidian black eyes. One of males had dark hair and green eyes and was wearing a green button up shirt. The other male had red hair and orange eyes. There were two other males that looked eerily similar to Michael-sama and Azazel-sensei. A female stood on her left with blonde hair, bright green eyes with glasses, and wore a once piece business suit. The one that stood out the most was the female. It was easy to tell that she was the oldest. Her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes were as blue as the sky. She had a warm smile on her face but something about her made Kiba uneasy. At the bottom of the frame, it said "Family" in ornate letters.

The other photos were of her and other people. There was one he saw of her, Issei, and Mitsuki.

"Mr. Yuuto ", Ashley finally spoke up.

"Have you heard from Mr. Hyoudou at all today?" she asked.

Kiba shook his head. He hadn't seen Issei since this morning and he was sleeping. He had extended his senses back to the house and felt Irina's signature and Issei's but then they vanished. Irina must have taken Issei to get looked at.

Before Ashley could ask more, a knock on the door interrupted them. Ashley looked towards the door and then to Kiba. She sighed and said to him,

"You may go, Mr. Yuuto. If you hear from Issei, please tell me. Okay?"

He nodded and left. When he opened the door, he saw a woman standing there. She looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a white hoodie with a gold brand lettering that said North Face and a red skirt. She had brown hair and scarlet eyes. The woman looked at him and shot him a charming smile before walking past him.

_She must be a student teacher_, Kiba thought as he made his way back to the classroom.

* * *

**Appalachian Mountains, Monongahela National Forest, Virginia, US, 11:25 PM**

A flash of light illuminated the forest around them. Irina looked around and saw a cave. She looked at Issei and saw that he saw it too. It was nearly hibernation season as she remembered. If there are any bears, they would have to take care of them first. They made their way to the cave. It was fairly large. The back led to a dead end but it was big enough. Irina summoned a circle and reached inside pulling out several supplies. They would be here for at least a day or two. They had left in a hurry so she was using the supplies she had built up for a long term mission.

"You ready", Issei asked.

"Yeah, just let me get a mat for you to lay down on,'' she said as she kept digging through her storage dimension. Irina found what she was looking for and pulled it out. A futon. She laid it out on the ground and motioned for Issei to lie down. Issei made his way over to the futon and laid down.

"Irina", Issei said after a few seconds.

"Hmm", she replied back.

"You'll have to bind my arms and legs. We don't know what will happen during the process and I need to know you'll be safe", Issei asked. Irina looked at him with an understanding look. She reached into the circle and pulled out bindings. It had been given to her by Michael after Issei entered the Juggernaut Drive while fighting Shalba Beelzebub. It had been used to restrain the Heavenly Dragons during the Great War when they were turned into Sacred Gears. She tied Issei's hands and feet and he looked at her gratefully. She pulled the bottle out of her circle and took out two pills.

"Remember, the pills will last you twenty four hours before you have to take another", Issei said. Ddraig decided to add his two cents.

**[Irina. Grab Issei's left hand.]**, Ddraig said. She complied and grabbed his hand. The moment she did a red glove with an emerald gem formed around her right hand. She looked at Ddraig wide eyed.

**[As extra insurance. This will boost your healing effectiveness]**, he said. Irina smiled at the glove. Rias had gotten the same gear, the Crimson Extinct Dragonar. Ddraig was seriously now regretting giving it to her.

**[Let's get started]**, Ddraig said to them. The two looked at each other and nodded. Just as Issei was about to begin something happened.

_Chu~_

He looked at Irina wide-eyed. A blush began forming on his cheeks.

She looked at him equally red faced and smiling.

"For luck", was all she said. Issei brought his hand up to his cheek and smiled at her. He closed his eyes and was plunged into his mindscape.

**[Boost!]**

The Gauntlet appeared on his left arm and the gem began to glow. Irina looked at the pills in her hand and downed one of them. She felt her power reserves increase to five times their normal amount. She put her hands above Issei's torso and her hands began to glow white. Issei's entire body was enveloped in a white aura. Irina willed the glove to boost her power.

**[Boost!]**

The glow around Issei intensified and she saw that he was regaining some of his color and saw his body begin to slowly recover. It was working. She looked at Issei and saw him gritting his teeth.

**Inside Issei's mindscape**

_Issei looked around. He summoned Boosted Gear and heard Ddraig's voice._

_**[Partner, you'll have to make your way to your deeper into yourself]**__, Ddraig said.  
_

"_Wait, I thought that the Pieces would be here", he said confused._

_Ddraig merely looked at him as he manifested in his mind. His partner could be really dull sometimes._

_**[No, this is your mindscape. For you to access your aura and soul, you'll have to go deeper]**_

"_How exactly?"_

_**[Everyone is different. For you, it seems like a street or road of some sort.]**_

_Issei looked. There was a road leading deeper into himself. In the distance, he saw what looked like a city. He frowned. Why did it have to be a city?_

_**[After you reach your soul, I will no longer be able to accompany you. However, you can still use Boosted Gear. Remember sever the pieces and connect them to your power while I connect your power to your soul. That way we can expel them]**__, Ddraig reminded him._

_Issei looked at him and nodded. Ddraig lowered himself and motioned for Issei to climb on. Issei climbed onto Ddraig's neck. Ddraig lifted off with a powerful flap and flew towards the city. Issei looked at the sky and noticed it was getting darker. Storm clouds were forming and lightning arced from the clouds. He looked down and saw the city was demolished. It was just like his dream. Suddenly, Ddraig landed. _

_**[This is where we part ways.]**__, Ddraig said to him. He walked to what appeared to be a massive lake that seemed to stretch for miles. The water wasn't blue, it was a mix of emerald green, black, and red. It shimmered and pulsed every few seconds. _

"_See you on the other side, partner", Issei said holding out his fist._

_Ddraig grinned and held out his own fist. They bumped fists and Issei began walking towards the city. He was filled with trepidation as he got closer to the city. The suburbs he was walking in were destroyed and like his dream, the street was littered with corpses. After a few hours of walking, Issei found himself entering the city. All of his senses told him to block and he brought up Boosted Gear and found himself meeting steel. It was Xenovia but she was different. Her eyes were red and black veins ran all over her skin. Her hair was a pale blue._

"_I never thought someone as useless as you would make it this far. You should have just rolled over and died like the pig you are," she said as she entered a stance. _

_**[Blade]**_

_Xenovia charged towards Issei and Durandal met Ascalon in a flurry of sparks. Issei parried every blow she dealt and smirked. This Xenovia was nowhere near the real one. Their battle was like a graceful dance until Xenovia parried Ascalon and it flew from his hands. She rammed her fist into Issei's stomach, sending him flying into the nearest building._

_Issei emerged from the rubble of the wall and spit out blood. _

_**[Boost]**_

_Issei took one step and appeared behind her. Her eyes grew wide and tried to block but Issei's fist rammed into her face and she flew into the fifth floor of the nearest skyscraper. Issei stared at the dust cloud forming on the fifth floor and saw Xenovia burst forth wings spread. Her face was messed up and black smoke was coming from the wounds. She raised Durandal for an overhead smash but Issei boosted for a second time and dodged. Deciding to try this new power, he thrust his palm forward to summon expecting to summon the flame but instead, Xenovia was pushed back by an unknown force. His grin grew wider. Telekinesis. That'll come in handy. Darknovia, as he had taken to calling her, came charging out but he dodged. Her attacks were starting to get sloppy._

_**[Boost!]**_

_**[Boost!]**_

_**[Boost!]**_

_That was his fourth boost. Deciding to finally end it, he ran to Ascalon and grabbed it. Darknovia thrust her sword forward to his torso no doubt aiming for a vital organ but he flickered out of existence and reappeared behind. He swung Ascalon decapitating her. Darknovia's body fell down and flickered a few times before becoming an Evil Piece. The Piece slowly began vanishing into red lights._

_One down, seven to go, he thought._

* * *

**Kuoh Academy College Division 12:15 PM**

Rias stared at the papers she was filing. She sighed. Why did the professors need so many things done? They were students, not secretaries. Rias turned her head to gaze at Tatsuya. She smiled and looked at him adoringly but the silhouette of a brown haird boy stood next to him with a goofy grin. Rias looked down. Was she really doing the right thing? She thought back to the advice Sona had given her a couple of months back.

**Flashback**

_It had been a few weeks since the Beast was defeated. The world was in turmoil as Pantheon Leaders did a damage check to prevent humans from finding out about their world. Her brother had told her to worry about school and leave the cleaning up to them. They had earned that rest. This was where she found herself in. The old student council room. Summer vacation had just started for them and everyone went home. Right now, she was deep in thought. Her relationship with Issei was going nowhere. She didn't now what to do. Her relationship with Issei was currently going nowhere and she was afraid._

_What if Issei leaves me for one of the other girls? Rias thought to herself._

_"RIAS!" a voice yelled startling her. Sona looked at her with a small glare._

_"Your move," she said. Sona then noticed that look. The same one she had when she was overthinking things._

_She sighed._

_"What is it Rias? We can't play a good game unless your head is in it."_

_"Huh. Oh, sorry..."_

_"Hey Sona, can I ask you something?" Rias said to her._

_"Sure", whatever it was Rias wanted, Sona was sure she could help. Or at least help her to the best extent she could._

_"How did you and Saji hit it off so well?" Sona was taken aback. She didn't expect this question._

_"Well, as you know, he asked me out after our debut Rating Games for the Young Devils. I asked him to give me time as I didn't want to jump into a relationship without seeing if we were compatible. We stayed as friends for a while up until the Beast. Remember when he almost died?" _

_Rias nodded. Sona was hysterical and stayed next to him the entire time. She had never seen her friend like that before._

_"Well, I found out I did truly like him. After he woke up, I said yes. After a few weeks, I figured we were compatible with each other. I never regretted it since," Sona had a small smile on her face but frowned when she realized that it wasn't a good example. She then remembered Tsubaki and Kiba's situation._

_"Remember when Tsubaki started going out with that guy from the Mammon House?" Rias nodded and was confused as to where she was going with this one. She remembered. Kiba was depressed for weeks until Tsubaki came back saying that it didn't work out._

_"That was a better example than mine. She wanted to see if her affections for Kiba was just a schoolgirl crush or if it was actual love," Sona explained to her. Rias nodded deep in thought at her words._

_"Why are you asking me this anyway? Trouble in paradise?" Sona asked her as she saw Rias move her bishop._

_Rias sighed again._

_"I feel as if my relationship with Issei has gone... stale? Stale. I'm afraid that he might leave me for another girl if he feels that we aren't... truly compatible," Rias confessed. Sona looked at her and started to think._

_So that's what she was worried about, Sona thought as she moved the rook._

_"Perhaps you two should take a break. For little while. You know, see other people. Find out if you were truly compatible with each other or if you, and I'm assuming the other girls too, just latched onto him from your 'rescue and adventure romance days'", Sona offered Rias her advice and view on the situation._

_"Take a break? Partner compatibility? Yeah, that's good advice. Thanks, Sona," Rias said. _

_"Your welcome. Oh and by the way, check."_

_Rias smirked. Sona had no idea what was coming._

_"No you," Rias said as she checkmated Sona's king._

**End Flashback**

Rias had told the other girls in her peerage that were present at the time what Sona had told her and to her surprise, they felt the same. She told them that they should go see other men to see if they were truly in love with Issei or just latching onto him for constantly saving them all the time. Some were harder to convince like Asia and Ravel but they soon caved when Rias told them that their relationship with Issei would be much stronger after this. Rias thought back to all the things she had said aloud a few days ago. She had never meant them. It was just that insulting Issei and giving him the cold shoulder were the only ways she could think of to not feel guilty what she was currently doing this. First rule of war, dehumanize your target was what Falbium-sama always said. That didn't really work with her situation so she just stuck to ignoring and insults. After all, she was doing this for their sake and Sona always gave sound advice. I mean, her parents owned hospitals and her sister dealt with relationships on a daily basis on top of her own successful romance. She had no doubt that she loved Issei but her fear of him leaving her was greater. That was why she did this. To see if they were truly meant to be or if they both jumped the gun on their relationship. She sighed again for the fifteenth time that day and looked out the window towards Hyoudou Manor.

_I'm sure we'll be fine and look back on it and laugh. I wonder how Issei's doing_, Rias mused as she thought of her beloved pawn.

* * *

**Appalachian Mountains, Monongahela National Forest, Virginia, US, 2:25 AM**

Irina watched as Issei's body arched. His eyes snapped open but his sclera was black and his irises were green. She saw a red light emanating from his bicep and a piece came flying out. As she attempted to grab it, Irina felt her life force being sapped. Her hand flew back.

This was what was inside Issei?

She keeping one hand on his chest to continue healing Issei, Irina reached into her storage circle and pulled out a box. She put the box down and reached in for a pair of tongs. Hey, you can't barbecue without tongs. Using the tongs, she picked up the pawn piece and placed it in the box.

She sat there Boosting every now and then to keep Issei stable. Irina looked outside and saw the Sun rising off in the horizon. It was morning now and so far only six pieces had come out of Issei's body.

"C'mon Ise-kun. You can do this. Just two more Pieces", she said. A magic circle appeared by her ear and it was flashing.

"Answer call", Irina commanded as she was too busy to manually do it.

"Irina!", a voice called out from the circle.

"Kiba! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice," she replied in relief. Kiba had been told her that Issei wasn't feeling well after she failed to reach him.

"Where are you guys? Are you in Heaven?"

"No. We're in a forest somewhere inside a cave."

"What? Why?"

"Kiba, whatever I tell you must not get out, okay?" Irina said, her voice serious. Kiba seemed to get the hint and replied with,

"Okay, let me get somewhere private", Kiba replied. He heard her walking up the stairs and opened a door. She heard a lock click and Kiba came back and said,

"What's so important that I have to keep to myself?" he asked. On the other end, Kiba's face was grim and serious. Whatever Irina and Issei was doing, it was big if they went to the extent of using random transportation.

"Irina…", he said.

"Ise-kun, he…", she said.

He heard her sigh and say something that made his blood turn to ice.

"He's removing his pieces."

His eyes grew wide to the point that his face would split. Kiba began to process what she was saying after a few minutes and said,

"Why?"

"His pieces. They're devouring his life force. Ddraig said that he would have been dead by the end of the next two weeks," she said. Kiba was floored. Issei was dying and nobody noticed but her. He felt horrible.

"I don't deserve this", he finally muttered in defeat.

"Huh? Don't deserve what?" she sounded confused.

"Issei's kindness! His friendship! Issei was the only person I thought of as a brother after that fight with Kokabiel and I couldn't even tell that he was dying! I mean, what the fuck kind of brother can't tell that their brother is dying! Oh Satan, what am I going to tell Mitsuki?" Kiba all but wailed into the circle.

Irina stayed silent on the other end. Mitsuki. The minute she finds out what happened. She'll drop everything to find Issei. The two were close now. Closer than they were as kids. She cursed under her breath. If word got out to Mitsuki about the cause of her brother's condition, God help them all.

"I'll tell her,'' Irina said after a few minutes of thought. As she said this, Issei let out a blood curdling scream. She panicked and boosted her healing power. She felt her energy waning.

_Shit, now of all times. I thought these pills were supposed to last twenty four hours,_ she thought. Irina kept one hand on Issei while grabbing another pill and swallowed it feeling her strength coming back.

"Irina! What's happening!? Is Issei okay!?" Kiba screamed.

"Yeah, he's expelling his seventh piece,'' she said as she saw a Pawn Piece fly out from his liver area.

"Kiba, I'll call you back," she said cutting the link. Irina looked at the boy she loved with a worried look. A few tears fell from her eyes and fell on Issei's chest.

"Ise-kun."

**With Issei earlier**

_Issei was tired. No scratch that, he felt as if he could hibernate for the rest of fall and winter. He had fought the corrupted versions of the girls in his soul. After Xenovia, it was Ravel. She flew around at high speeds firing purple balls of fire at him. The battle ended quickly with him bifurcating her with Ascalon._

_Koneko was next. She was harder than the last two. This Koneko hit harder than the real one. He swore that his ribs broke into ten pieces after that fight. But in the end, she too fell. After Issei disemboweled her and stomped her skull in._

_Asia was by far the easiest. The pieces tried to kill him psychologically using her. He hesitated a couple of times. He then pretended to let his guard down. As Asia approached him, the smile on her face twisted into that of a demented grin. She had fangs and began to lick her lips in anticipation. As Asia reached out to break his neck, Issei punched a hole through her chest. Asia's eyes grew wide as blood began to spill out her mouth. In Issei's hand was the fourth piece._

_After Asia was Akeno. Akeno was difficult like Koneko displaying the same abilities as the real one. In the end, he defeated her by stabbing her in the heart._

_As he walked musing upon his past six wins, his body screamed at him to dodge. A black and red ball flew past him and destroyed the building next to him. In front of him stood Dark Rias. She looked like the others. Pale Skin. Black Veins. Red Eyes. Her hair was a deeper shade. She looked at him with seductive look. She began caressing her entire body while smirking at him. Issei raised his brow. Seduction, really? He snorted._

_Dark Rias began to look angry. That wasn't good. She appeared in front of him and kicked him through a fountain. Issei flew until he landed in the middle of a baseball field._

_He rubbed his jaw staring at Dark Rias, who was currently flying at him._

_Damn, this Rias can hit. The real Rias doesn't even know the fine style of hand to hand, Issei thought. _

_**[Welsh Dragon Overbooster]**_

_Issei was covered in the telltale scarlet armor of the Boosted Gear. He stood there and watched Dark Rias flying towards him with a visor._

_She cocked her fist back and swung again only to hit air. Issei brought his leg up and kicked her into the stomach. Rias flew into the announcer's booth. Red and black energy balls flew from the booth aimed at Issei. He weaved his body around the blasts. Behind him, the entire field was littered with tiny craters. Issei jumped towards the announcer's booth at the same time as Rias jumped out. Their fists coated in energy. Issei's a black and green flame and Rias's was coated in her Power of Destruction. Their fists collided and the entire stadium was engulfed in a red light. The shockwave tore apart a majority of the block. A mushroom cloud formed where the stadium used to be._

_Ddraig was busy reconnecting Issei's life force to his power source when he felt a massive shockwave go over him. He turned his head and saw a massive mushroom cloud in the city. _

_[C'mon Issei. You can do this], he prayed for the safety of his partner._

_Dark Rias hovered above the ruined stadium looking triumphant. That brat was finally dead. She turned around and her expression turned to one of shock and horror. Issei's gauntlet covered fist smashed into her face sending her crashing into the ground. Before she could get up, Issei curb stomped her making a massive crater in the ground. Dark Rias coughed up blood and clutched her stomach. Issei stood over Dark Rias his face filled with disgust. He summoned Ascalon and raised it with the intent of stabbing it through her face. He froze when he spoke._

"_Issei-kun. My Issei-kun, please don't do this. I'm sorry for cheating on you", Dark Rias said with tears streaming down her face._

"_No. You're not," Issei said, an emotionless look adorning his face. Dark Rias's face shifted into a rage. She started to scream and curse at him. Issei listened to her every word. He sighed and brought the sword down, stabbing it through her head. Her body spasmed and Issei brought the armored fist down on the pommel of Ascalon driving it deeper into the ground. Her body went limp and flickered a few times before disappearing. Ascalon was driven right through the pawn piece. The piece, like the others, dissolved into crimson particles._

"_Whew. One more pie-" was all he could get out as he was sent flying through multiple buildings. Issei crashed into a broken car and slid before skidding to a stop. He got up and looked around. His vision was blurry from the pain and he waited for it to clear. When it cleared, he saw it. Irina. She was here. She looked the same. Her soft, chestnut brown hair in her signature twin tails. Her loving violet eyes. Her warm smile. Irina landed in front of Issei smiling that serene smile and beckoned for him to come to her. Issei began walking to her when every hair on his neck stood up. _

"_You're not Irina", Issei said. His face morphed into that of rage. How dare this thing use her form! Issei charged at the Irina impostor surprising her. He kicked her into the building across the street collapsing the front side on top of her. She flew out of the rubble looking at him angrily._

_Her body began to shift. Her face elongated into a snout and horns grew from her head. Her eyes turned red. Her arms became more snake like elongating themselves while her hands melded together becoming heads. Her angelic wings lost their feathers and became leathery like a dragon's. She grew becoming larger and larger. Two tails emerged from her rear. Each tail was barbed and rattled like a rattlesnake's. _

_Issei stared in horror and in rage. That thing was the last piece. That fucking dragon was here and it used Irina's form. How dare it use her! Issei's power responded to his rage. His sclera turned black and his irises turned into an emerald green. Orange veins like fire appeared on his neck and arms. A black and green aura enveloped his body. Issei flew to the dragon roaring with rage. His fist connected with its chest creating a massive shockwave that shattered every window in a 500-foot radius. _

Outside Irina watched as orange veins that looked like they were filled with fire began to appear. She doubled her efforts as she saw a red light appear where Issei's heart was.

"Issei. Live," was all she said.

"_Issei. Live." were the words he heard as he fought the Dragon. Irina was out there waiting for him. Ddraig was counting on him. Issei roared._

_**[Boost x50]**_

_**[Dragon Shot]**_

_A massive beam of red energy collided with the Dragon pushing it back several hundred feet. The Dragon growled and roared at Issei. It opened all three of its mouths and fired golden beams of energy at him. Issei spread his wings and flew into the sky._

_**[Blade]**_

_**[Blade Two]**_

_Ascalon and Ascalon II appeared in Issei's hands. This was a dragon so dragon killing weapons would be effective. He activated Diabolos Dragon._

_**[Abyssal Dragon Infinity Drive]**_

_Issei glowed and was then covered in a black and red armor. Four pairs of black energy wings appeared on his back. Issei decided to figure out later and set his sights on the massive three-headed dragon. He called on Ophis' power but got something different. His gear began announcing,_

_**[Force]**_

_One of the energy beams flew towards him and dissipated into nothingness. Issei looked on in shock. Then, he smirked. This was going to be fun. _

_The Dragon looked confused. Its attack just disappeared into nothing. It saw the boy flying to one of its heads and swing both the swords. _

_Issei's swords made contact with the Dragon's hide but shattered on impact. Issei's eyes widened. It was immune to dragon killing weapons. Issei flew back as the head came down with its maw intending to chow down on him. This harder than he thought. Issei saw another head coming for him and thrust his palm forward to fire a dragon shot but instead got another, _

_**[Force]**_

_Unlike last time, an invisible force slammed into the dragon's head sending it flying backwards. Issei heard a sick crunch as the neck snapped. These new powers. Just what were they? Issei had no time to think as he dodged another bite from the dragon. _

_**[Divide]**_

_Issei felt power rush into him. He saw the Dragon roar in anger at its power being taken. The Dragon spread its wings and golden lightning arced from its wings scorching everything. Issei dodged nearly every bolt. The last one nicked him on the shoulder destroying his right pauldron._

_Issei fired another shot but a dark flame came forth._

_**[Combust]**_

_The black flame hit another one of the dragon's heads. Issei watched in sick fascination as it was slowly incinerated until nothing was left. He looked at the flames in his hand. The flames looked like they were as strong as his __**[Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames]**__. The Dragon began to back away from Issei obviously acknowledging him as the stronger one. Issei would have none of it. He flew forward his fist reared back. This time, he called upon the flames._

_**[Combust]**_

_Issei then called upon Ddraig's power._

_**[Boost]**_

_The intensity of the flames increased and his whole form was covered in it. He resembled a comet wreathed in black flames. The Dragon, in one last desperate gambit, fired all its power into an energy beam. Issei's blazing form cut straight through the beam and he passed through the dragon's head. Issei landed and dismissed Diabolos Dragon. He looked behind him to see the Dragon's body frozen. Its body flickered a few times before fading from existence. A red piece floated in mid air before dissolving in a crimson light. _

_Issei spread his new wings and flew to Ddraig's location and saw the red dragon waiting for him. Ddraig grinned at his partner and Issei grinned back. Issei jumped up in the air, pumping his fist._

"_Fuck yeah! I'm free!"_

_Ddraig chuckled at his friend's antics. Issei looked up and saw the sky clearing. Issei collapsed on the ground and with a true smile on his face, blacked out._

**Appalachian Mountains, Monongahela National Forest, Virginia, US, October 18, 2019, 11:00 AM**

Issei woke up and looked around. He saw that his hands and feet were still bound together. He looked to his side and saw a mop of chestnut hair on his chest. He smiled at Irina's sleeping form. He whispered into her ear to wake her up from sleep.

The first thing Irina heard after sleeping for nearly three days was whispering. She opened her bleary eyes and saw Issei staring at her. She jumped up and crushed him in a hug, tears of happiness streaming down her face.

"I-Irina. I n-need air!" Issei choked out.

Irina let go and saw that he was still bound. She quickly untied him and put the restraints into her storage dimension. She saw Issei's gaze move from her to the box. The box that contained his Evil Pieces. He felt their soul sapping pull from his spot.

"Ne, Ise-kun. Now that your pieces are out. What will you do now?" she asked.

Issei paused. He never thought this far ahead. He was human for the most part. Ddraig had told him before he passed out that he would be part human, part dragon, and part something else. That something else was what Issei had wondering but made a note to talk to Irina and Ddraig about it later. He also didn't want to go back to Rias but he needed an education.

"I was thinking about going back to school", Issei said. Irina looked at him. He was right but she asked something that had worried her for the past three days.

"Will you go back to her?"

"No. I won't go back. I won't be a disposable meat shield for them to cower behind whenever there's a fight. I won't be a slave to some red headed whore anymore. I want to travel, to learn, to be my own person. I realized that so much of what I was revolved around Rias and making a harem.

I still want a harem but for now. I want to focus on what's important to me", Issei said all while looking at her. He had practically confessed to her.

Irina smiled and looked at Issei lovingly. Issei was still Issei. Irina leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on Issei's lips. After she pulled away, Issei had a goofy smile on his face. She helped him up and finally asked.

"What happened to Ddraig?"

"Oh yeah, I still need to wake him up. Let's do that when we get home. I have report on endangered species to finish for Az-nee anyway."

"You still call her that,'' Irina said giggling.

"Oi, Az-nee is still Az-nee, _bitch_", Issei said muttering the last part underneath his breath. Irina smacked him on the back of the head indicating that she heard it.

"Jerk."

They laughed and stared into each other's eyes for a little. Issei smiled and grabbed her hand before making a transportation circle to take them home.

**Beijing, China, 11:00 PM**

A woman sat on the roof of a building as she watched the house she was in go up in flames. Her brother sat next to her munching on some poor man's leg. She eventually got fed up with his chewing and said,

"For the love of God, will you please not eat right now! We have to deliver this kid!"

Behind them was a boy of about 14 years, tied up and unconscious.

"Okay, just let me finish this snack," he said finishing the last bit of meat on the leg before tossing the femur off the roof. The man grabbed the boy and they both vanished in a black flash of light. Risa stood on another roof and lowered her binoculars.

"So that's why they're here? Hunting kids?" she said to herself. She opened a CC and called Azrael.

"Yello," a nonchalant voice could be heard from the CC.

"Azrael-sama, I saw them, It looks like they're hunting children but so far, I don't see a pattern. By the time, I got here it was too late. It also looks like they are capable of instantaneous teleportation like the older angels and the Archangels", she reported.

"Good work, Risa. Call me when you find them again," Azrael said. Risa responded with a yes and cut the link.

**Kuoh Town, 12:00 AM**

Azrael leaned back into her chair with a tired sigh. She looked at the list of disappearances. Each family had been brutally killed and one of the children was taken. There was no age correlation between the kids. What was Beelzebub planning? Why was he taking kids? She looked at the list again. That's when she noticed it. All the people taken were 20 or under. They were all born during or after 1999.

But what was so special about the kids born during that time frame? And the thing from Risa's first report. The little girl that displayed power equal to that of a C-Rank Ultimate Class Being.

Azrael groaned in frustration. This was going to be harder than she thought. Suddenly, her mirror rippled and she saw Gabriel looking at her.

"What's wrong Az-chan? Long day?" Gabriel asked her younger sister in worry.

"Yeah. Something like that. Nee-sama, I found something," Azrael said looking at her older sister with bleary eyes. Bags were forming under them. She still needed to sleep despite being an Archangel.

Gabriel looked on motioning for her to continue.

"All the people taken. They were all born during or after the year 1999", she said.

"Well that narrows it down."

"Not by much. But, they seem to be targeting specific people."

"Perhaps one of the parents knew Beelzebub", Gabriel offered.

Azrael's face lit up as if she had just found her favorite treat.

"That's it!" she yelled.

"Nee-sama, you're a genius!"

"Eh? Really? You hear that Michael! Az said I'm a genius. In your stupid face!" she heard her older sister say. Azrael smiled remembering their time together. Before Ellie vanished.

"Sister, I have to go," Azrael said before cutting the link. Gabriel merely smiled back and waved her goodbye.

Azrael sat down.

"Deals, huh?"

**Hyoudou Manor, Same Time**

Issei and Irina appeared at the front door. They opened it and walked in holding hands. Issei was suddenly knocked onto the floor by a brown missile that collided with his chest. He looked up with a groan and saw Mitsuki sobbing into his shirt. Issei felt bad. Ever since they became devils, they had become closer to each other. He brought his hand up and began stroking her hair.

"It's okay, Mii-chan. I'm okay see", Issei cooed at her trying to calm her down. He got up while she still hung onto him wrapping her arms and legs around his body. Issei awkwardly walked to the couch and sat down holding and comforting his twin sister. After 15 minutes, she finally calmed down and sat opposite to Issei and Irina with Kiba.

"Aniki, where were you for the past three days? Why didn't you call!" she yelled.

Issei smiled at his sister and put a box in front of her and opened it. Mitsuki looked inside and her eyes grew wide. Her brother's evil pieces were in front of her. She looked to him. Then the pieces. Then back to him. She smacked his face hard.

"I deserved that", Issei said rubbing his cheek. Irina hid her laughter behind her hand while Kiba chuckled shaking his head.

"Why didn't you tell me your pieces were killing you!? I had to find out from Irina! Do you not trust me, your own twin!" she yelled.

"I do trust you. I was going to call and tell you but the pain had gotten worse and I had to get them removed immediately", Issei said raising his hands in placating manner.

Mitsuki calmed down and hugged Issei with all her strength.

"I'm just glad you're okay", she said a few tears coming down her face. Issei pulled away and wiped the tears from his beautiful sister's face.

"Oh, I have something to tell you guys! It's about why Seekvaira-sama called me away four days ago," she said excitedly.

Issei, Irina, and Kiba all raised their eyebrows.

"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us," Kiba said curious to know what was happening.

"There'll be a tournament. A worldwide Rating Game being held in the Underworld. Any pantheon can participate from humans to Gods. All are welcome. I'm participating as a member of Seekvaira-sama's peerage!" Mitsuki informed them.

Issei and Irina were excited. A Worldwide Rating Game. Anyone can be a king. Sign them up.

"Where and when do we sign up?" Kiba said as his two friends were shaking from the excitement. Issei was excited at fighting different opponents and testing his new powers while Irina was excited to fight alongside her crush. Boyfriend? Probably. Issei looked at her and the two other occupants in the room already knew they were teaming up. Irina did something that surprised Kiba and Mitsuki, she grabbed Issei's face and crashed her lips into his. Issei was shocked at first but then leaned into it. Their kiss became heated as their tongues fought each other for dominance but Issei finally relented and allowed her to explore his mouth. Mitsuki covered her eyes and her face became red. Kiba merely smiled and then coughed bringing the new couple out of their haze.

Issei and Irina separated with a trail of saliva still connecting them. They looked at the other two. Mitsuki had an annoyed look and a red face while Kiba was smirking making obscene actions with his hands. Irina turned red while Issei looked away.

"Are you two done making out?" Mitsuki asked, "Because I'm gonna tell you when and where to sign up." Her arms were crossed and looked between her brother and Irina. She sighed. She didn't want to become an aunt at such a young age.

"Right"

"I'm sorry."

Issei and Irina said simultaneously.

Mitsuki smiled.

"Registration for the Azazel Cup is in Lucifaad. Sign ups are in three weeks."

* * *

**CC= Communication Circle**

**So Issei's finally free from the Trihexa Pieces. Remember guys fav/follow the story if you want more. And remember, there's a poll about which five gods you want to appear and which of those five gods you want to be a Bobby Singer/Mentor/Yoda to Issei and his friends or if you want Azazel after the current poll. Remember, make it a great day/night or not, the choice is yours. This time...**

***This is repost***

**You might have noticed Rias's reasoning for this. When I first put this up, yes, their reasons were the same as the one in Change of a Dragon and since you guys pointed it out the fact that I didn't explain. I tried to the minute I got this but came up with nothing so I scoured the internet for articles on relationships, relationship problems, cheating, why people cheat, etc. One article I found talked about relationship compatibility and I liked it. But I wanted more as that wasn't enough so I went back here to . I looked at every DxD Fanfiction of Issei gets his heartbroken, cheated on, betrayed, etc. I didn't find what I wanted so I went to other fandoms. The one I decided to use was one CollegeFool used in his RWBY fanfic, An Affair or Something. Read it, it's really good though you will be thrown off by lack of dialogue. Anyway, he used the term I liked call rescue romance. I went back through the entire plot of DxD and found the term fit disturbingly well with most of the girls. He has literally saved them or something they held dear, i.e a relationship with a family member. Not convinced? Issei saves Rias from Riser. Issei repairs/saves Akeno's relationship with her father. Issei repairs Koneko's relationship with Kuroka and vice versa. Issei saves Asia from her loneliness. Issei saves Kiyome from an arranged marriage. Issei saves them all from Trihexa, etc. ,etc. So I decided to toy around with this idea and spun this little conversation between Rias and Sona. Basically Sona was saying that "Are you sure that you two are meant to be or is this some temporary affection you have for him for always saving you? You should take some time to think it over before you find yourself stuck in something you'll regret for the next 10,000 years." And before you all go in the review and say that "Why didn't Rias and the girls ask an adult or someone with more relationship experience?" Please remember that every adult the ORC knows is either currently busy fixing the world, is Ophis, or dead. I'm pretty sure Ophis isn't qualified to give relationship advice and dead men tell no tales. Also, you might have noticed that Issei and Kiba are uh... left in the dark about the whole thing. The reason for that will come in a future chapter in another heart to heart between Rias and Sona. And I hope you guys like it or at least are facepalming on how Rias applied Sona's advice and notify me if you have seen this and where. Read the above for the outro.**


	5. Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

**Pyre: Okay, that was literally my first time writing a fight scene. Sorry about the chapters. I messed up the dates and had to fix them. Also, remember the polls guys and gals. So, Issei and Irina, huh? Anyway, let's get this show on the road.**

**Lily: *nods happily* CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the o-offi-**

**Pyre: Official**

**Lily: official release.**

**Pyre: You're such a cute kid.**

* * *

[Ddraig talking]

[Ddraig thinking]

{Albion talking}

{Albion thinking}

Mental Communication

"Regular Dialogue"

Attacks/Spells

* * *

**5 months after Qlippoth was defeated **

_After the war with Rizevim and Qlippoth, the situation the Moonlit World found themselves in became tense to say the least. Aside from preventing the Sunlit World from finding out about their existence, the leaders of the various factions scrambled to repair their respective pantheons. In the North, the Norse and the other European Pantheons began to rebuild and repair their homes while in the Americas, the Greeks dealt with the upsurge of monsters escaping from Tartarus._

_Things went well for the Biblical Faction. If you would call a two out of three a passing score when it came to the home field situation. The Devils had to deal with a massive fallout. The Four Maou were constantly swamped with paperwork and press conferences with the general populace. Most of the questions they had, the Maou were able to answer but the others… Well, they hit close to home for them. Most of the personal questions went like "Why didn't you alert the Underworld?", or "Why did you let a bunch of kids take care of it?", or the best one, "Do you not trust your own people to help handle the situation?". Yeah, Sirzechs and crew had a lot of work to do to repair their little slice of the Creation._

_There was a darker side to the aftermath. Rebellions happened throughout the Underworld, instigated by devils who believed in the ideologies put forth by the Old Maou Faction. In response to this rising threat, the Four Maou implemented a strike force to squash these rebellions before they got out of hand. That strike team came in the form of Vali Team. The Moonlit World's equivalent of the various strike forces used by the humans of the Sunlit World._

_Why not the Boy you ask? Well, the leaders thought it would be better if the young hero got rest. Spend some time with his future wife… s. Get ready for his married life. After all, several of them can attest that your wife is always right. Or in the boy's case, wives. So they asked his rival instead._

_Thanks to the team's efforts in helping end the war and their efforts in helping to relieve the post war situation, Vali and his team became celebrities across the Moonlit World. Their crimes had been pardoned as payment and the masses adored them much like the humans adore their superheroes. As it currently was, they were as close as they could get to a vigilante team that went around and squashed evil. Which brings us to this situation._

**October 10, 2019, 12:30 PM, Valak Territory, Underworld**

Vali sighed as he sat on a rock inside the Valak Castle. Around him lay dozens of bodies belonging to those who believed his psychotic grandfather's words. It surprised him that his message seemed to transcend cultural borders as he saw humans, youkai, and even some fallen. He looked at the tattered banner of the Valak House. An angelic child riding a two headed dragon. Vali smiled a little. That human movie had nothing on real devils. He still laughed at the sight of Bikou screaming with the rest of the crowd when the demon nun appeared on screen.

"Oi, Vali!" Vali turned his head to look at Bikou. Bikou had black hair and black eyes and was wearing an old Chinese style armor. He was leaning on his Bo staff looking bored.

"Why the hell are we doing this again?", Bikou asked, his tail swinging all over the place.

Vali looked at him with an equal amount of boredom on his face. He looked at Arthur. Arthur was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore grey clothes befitting that of a nobleman and blue rimmed glasses. The man was cleaning Caliburn with a cloth that he got from Satan knows where.

"Because we got nothing else to do. This is the most fun we could have at the moment other than watching you piss yourself during horror movies", Vali said with a slight smirk. He was getting better, more social. After he found out his mother was still alive, he visited her but didn't reveal himself.

"Hey, that was one time!" Bikou yelled with indignation written all over his face. The team would never let him live it down. He remembered Kuroka's mad, cackling laughter as a massive wet spot grew all over his theater seat. He suddenly remembered something he meant to ask Vali a few weeks ago.

"Hey Vali, remind me again. Where the hell did Kuroka run off to? I mean, other than visiting her sister, she has nothing else to do right?"

Arthur was the one who answered him.

"She went off to get a job from Lady Yasaka. Apparently, as one of the last Nekomata and a Nekoshou, Kuroka was named the Devil Ambassador for the Youkai. She's the liaison between Kyoto and the Underworld."

"Yeah, but you guys seem to forget Kuroka's reasons for doing this", Vali looked at them. Arthur and Bikou looked at him expectantly waiting to hear Kuroka's reasons.

"The man she has fallen in love with holds a high position in society. Kuroka wants to impress my rival so that she could see herself as worthy to be one of his lovers", he said to them. Honestly, those two were so dull sometimes.

"Hmmm, I think Le Fay said the same thing," Arthur replied back with his hand on his chin.

"Let's get out of here. There's that other movie, Brightburn, that I want to watch", Bikou said already leaving the castle. Vali and Arthur got up to follow him. Bikou created a transportation circle to teleport them back to Lilith but the circle shattered. Bikou cursed under his breath.

"Looks like there's some interference preventing us from creating transportation circles", Arthur said watching his own circle shatter. Vali looked back at the castle.

"It must be the mass produced evil dragons. Their bodies were putting out massive amounts of energy. That's the only reason we were able to locate these guys anyway. Let's just walk, the further we get away, the less interference."

Vali began walking along the path that led to Valak Castle with Bikou and Arthur right behind him. Bikou groaned.

"If only Le Fay was here, we could've teleported to Lilith and not have to walk just to teleport!" Bikou complained. Irritation was clear on his face.

"Yeah, if only," Arthur muttered looking down. Vali and Bikou shot him deadpan looks.

_Siscon,_ they both thought.

They walked for about a few more miles before deciding to try again. This time it worked and in a flash of light, Vali Team arrived in Lilith. Vali bid his compatriots goodbye and told them that they would meet up at the Grigori Headquarters after Vali finished with the report. Just as they were about to part ways, Divine Dividing manifested on Vali's back. The three froze and looked at the Wings.

"Albion wha-" Vali didn't even get to finish when he felt it. He froze eyes wide staring off into the distance. Arthur and Bikou stared at Vali tense and ready to spring into action. But just as fast as the feeling came, it disappeared just as suddenly.

**{Vali, you felt that too right.}**, Albion asked causing the wings to flash blue with every word.

"Yeah", Vali said.

"What? What did you sense?" Bikou asked becoming more frantic with each word. Arthur stayed silent his hands on Caliburn ready to draw the sword at a moment's notice.

"Issei. He entered the Juggernaut Drive", Vali replied. His face was grim.

_What the hell happened Hyoudou?_, Vali said. While he wouldn't admit it, Vali did think of Issei as a brother. Fighting together in the war would do that to people. After all, war brings those who fight for and defend each other closer together.

Arthur and Bikou looked at each other. Bikou looked back and said.

"Are you sure? Maybe it was something else."

Divine Dividing began to glow intensely.

**{Do not doubt my senses ape. That energy was Ddraig's. The only problem was that there was something else mixed in. It was ancient. Dark. Powerful. It felt like the energy signature of a devil but much more ominous. To put it simply, the power reeked of Darkness.}**, Albion said. Vali stayed silent. Did the Beast do something to Issei? Or was it something else.

"We need to report this to the Maou", Vali said before running towards the Headquarters.

"Hey, wait up!" Bikou and Arthur ran after Vali. Weaving around the various people that roamed the streets of Lilith, Vali and his team ran as fast as they could. After five minutes, they reached their destination. Ars Nova. The capital building of the Underworld and headquarters of the Four Satans. The building was massive. Four towers for each Satan on each corner of the complex. Its structure was a mix of modern and Victorian style. Vali burst through the door, ignoring the calls of the front desk secretary and ran to find Sirzechs' office. He stopped at the door and composed himself. Arthur and Bikou were behind him doing the same. He opened it. The room was simple yet elegant. A chandelier hung from the ceiling. Desks lined the row with each member of Sirzechs' peerage neck deep in papers. Some stacks reached as high as the ceiling. Sirzechs' desk was at the end. It was larger than the others. Sirzechs Lucifer sat there in often switching his gaze from his computer monitor to his papers. Sirzechs was a tall man. He had crimson red hair with bangs that framed his face and his hair reached his shoulders. He had blue-green eyes. Next to him stood his wife and Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge. Grayfia was an extremely beautiful woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had long silver hair that reached her back and braids on each side on her face. Her eyes were silver and contained a stern look.

"Lord Lucifer", Vali said getting their attention. The two looked at him. Sirzechs had a look of relief on his face which he quickly masked with a professional look.

"How was the mission?" Sirzechs asked.

"The mission is complete and we sustained no injuries," Vali said with pride evident in his voice.

"Good. I have your next task ready for you. Azazel needs you at the Grigori. Something is about to happen and Azazel needs you there", Sirzechs said.

Vali looked at Arthur and Bikou. They shrugged at him.

"_Albion, should we tell them?",_ Vali asked.

**{We have nothing to lose. Tell them.}**, Albion said. He didn't like what he sensed. Albion knew what it was but he couldn't place his claw on where he had felt it before. As Albion was left to his thoughts, Vali spoke up.

"Lord Lucifer. Lady Lucifuge. I have something to tell you."

Sirzechs looked up while Grayfia stared at him with her delicate eyebrow. They waited for him to say something. Vali went on.

"I have reason to believe that Issei Hyoudou is in some sort of danger."

Grayfia's eyes widened while Sirzechs looked serious. He waved his hand at Vali motioning for him to continue.

"Earlier today, I sensed Issei enter the Juggernaut Drive."

"Are you sure about this?" they both asked at the same time. Vali grew irritated.

"Of course, I'm sure about this why would I lie?" Vali almost yelled. Bikou and Arthur took a step back. Vali rarely lost his cool.

"Then, why didn't any of us sense it?", Grayfia asked in a cool tone.

"Because it disappeared as soon as I felt it", he replied, not intimidated by the two Ultimate Class beings in front of him by the least.

Sirzechs and Grayfia went silent. Sirzechs glanced at Grayfia and the two had a conversation that happened entirely with just their eyes. Vali was instantly reminded of Issei and Irina. While Rias may have been the Alpha in Issei's harem, Irina was the only one who could read him like an open book. Their coordination was impeccable. Vali was brought out of his thoughts when Grayfia said,

"We'll look into it."

Vali looked at her and nodded. In his head, Albion said, **{She's lying.}**

"Oh yeah, by the way, the castle was being used by whatever is left of Qlippoth. Not rebels. They had evil dragon clones there. The castle is still intact mostly so you don't have to worry about collateral damage," Vali said as he motioned for his friends to leave. Vali didn't like how both of them dismissed this comment. Both of them were supposed to be Issei's self appointed older siblings but clearly, they aren't doing what they need to. But on the other hand, Vali could understand. With the way things are right now, Issei was a second priority for the two. Sirzechs was a ruler and a ruler's philosophy of people first, family second rang true with what he just witnessed.

"Good. Now, prepare for your next mission", Sirzechs ordered the three. With that, they walked out the door. Sirzechs walked to his window and watched the three walk out the door and teleport in a transportation circle.

"Grayfia… do you believe what he said about Issei?" Sirzechs asked clearly worried.

Grayfia looked at her husband.

"I have my doubts about this, but if anything did happen, Michael or Azazel would have informed us by now. Not to mention, Rias and the girls. I'm sure Issei is fine."

Sirzechs calmed down. He really did love his wife. But still, he felt as if they were missing something. He didn't like it. He felt as if something happened. Grayfia saw that look. The look he had when he was unsure of himself. Her eyes softened and she caressed the left side of his face.

"Dear, Issei's fine. He doesn't have a reason to activate the Juggernaut Drive. Rias and the girls are there for him and he's stronger now without it. Plus, if anything did happen to Issei, Rias would have called us over the CC", she said.

Sirzechs smiled but deep down, there was this gnawing thought. He pushed it deep down to investigate later.

"Besides, in three weeks, we'll finally be free and you can visit him. I bet he'll be happy to see us", Grayfia said

"Okay. There's nothing wrong with Issei. I'm sure he's fine. After all, he has Rias and the girls," Sirzechs said unknowing to the fact that a certain brown haired boy was writhing and screaming in pain in the Grove.

* * *

**Grigori Headquarters, October 11, 2019, 5:30 AM**

Vali, Bikou, and Arthur appeared on a pathway leading up to the Grigori Headquarters. As they walked, Vali was deep in thought. Something terrible was happening to Issei and those two just blew him off. The nerve of them. They can't even spare a few resources to even check on him. Vali felt Albion's apprehension at the situation and began talking to him about what they should do next.

"_Albion, should we tell Azazel as well?"_

**{We should. If anyone would react, it's that man. He cares for the boy like a son.}**, Albion said. He still felt uneasy about it. He was bothered by that taint on his energy. What was that? Why can't he remember where he felt it?

"You guys go on ahead. I need to talk to Azazel", Vali said to them as they entered. The two nodded and Vali began walking to Azazel's office. As Vali walked the windowed hallways, he saw something new that wasn't there before.

_So Sahariel finally added a moon? She must have driven the old man insane then,_Vali mused as he kept walking. After 20 minutes of walking and climbing stairs, Vali finally reached a desk.

"I'm here to see Azazel. He said he needed me for something", he said to the secretary.

"Of _course~_" the secretary said. She walked around and led him to an elevator all the while swaying her hips at Vali. He ignored it. After all, he has his sights set on someone else.

"This elevator will take you up to the upper levels. Lord Azazel's room is the last one at the end of the hall", she said.

He nodded at her in thanks. The elevator ride was annoying the whole way up. The music was just Azazel and Baraqiel singing Adele songs the whole time. He walked out thanking whatever higher power that the torture was over.

"Last room, last room", he said to himself. Vali looked and saw two massive french doors at the end of the hallway.

"Of course", he said as he facepalmed, "Of course, he would have the biggest doors."

He knocked three times before a man with blonde and black hair opened the door.

"Ah Vali, I was waiting for you. The others are here as well", Azazel said. Vali entered the room and saw various blueprints and a Nintendo Switch that was currently on. He sighed. Azazel must have just called him to play Smash. Azazel led him to another room and saw something that made him freeze.

**{Hehehe, The Final Judgement of God will be jealous if she sees this Vali.}**, Albion said snickering.

"Vaaa-kuuuun!" a voice rang out as a blonde woman transformed herself into a missile and flew from the couch glomping him making them fall on the floor.

"Lavinia, please get off me," Vali groaned. The other occupants of the room were snickering at his situation.

Lavinia got off of Vali and smiled. Lavinia had long, flowing blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. She wore a white hooded robe, but other than that she was beautiful. Lavinia was also the wielder of the Longinus Sacred Gear, Absolute Demise and a member of the organization led by Mephistopheles called Grauzauberer. Her moniker was **The Eternal Ice Princess**. Lavinia had declared Vali to be hers and appointed herself as the eternal rival of the woman she refused to call by name. She just referred to her by her moniker, **The Final Judgement of God**.

Vali looked around the room and saw a few other people. Tobio, a human member of the Grigori, and wielder of the Longinus Gear, Canis Lykaon. Tobio was a man in his early twenties with a cleanly cut, short black hair and grey eyes. He wore a beige trench coat reaching his ankles. Underneath it, he wore a reinforced vest and a white button up shirt. He wore black pants and combat boots. His moniker was **The Slash Dog**.

To his side, lay a massive dog. Scratch that. A massive direwolf with red eyes. This was Jin and he was the Sacred Gear of Tobio. An independent Type One. He lay peacefully next to him on his left.

Sitting on the sofa to the left were the current governor general and vice governor general, Shemahazai and Baraqiel. On the seat opposite to them was Penemue.

Governor General Shemahazai was a tall man in his early twenties with silvery white hair and violet eyes. He wore a purple tunic, silver slacks, and dress shoes.

To his right, Vice Governor Baraqiel was an extremely tall muscular man. He appeared to be middle aged and jet black hair and a beard. He wore a form fitting uniform that was black with a few green parts here and there.

Opposite to them sat Penemue. She had violet eyes and long, flowing blue hair that reached her hips. She had bountiful and perky breasts. Penemue wore a long, violet formal dress that reached her feet. The sides were split showing her immense sex appeal. She was known the world over as the strongest and the most beautiful woman in the Grigori.

Azazel finally spoke up.

"Now, you might be wondering why I called you all here."

Mutters went around the room as each occupant had their ideas ranging from new Sacred Gear to the pictures of various women he had met and slept with. Azazel's eyebrow twitched. No one took him seriously anymore.

"Because of recent events, the various pantheon leaders have suggested a worldwide Rating Game. Most of the details have been hashed out by Ajuka but we're meeting in a few days to discuss the rest of the details as well as the name!" Azazel chirped.

The Cadres' eyes grew wide. A World Class what!?

The younger ones had different reactions. Lavinia had a hand over her mouth, Tobio was chuckling and shaking his head muttering about boob obsessed dragons and battle maniacs. Vali had a shit eating grin on his face. Oh, people he could fight. He needed to tell Bikou and Arthur to start their training.

"We still need to vote on it in a few days but let me tell you something. I think it'll happen. Imagine it. All the pantheons united together cheering for their favorite fighters. Vali, imagine all the powerful people you could fight!" Azazel said, a mischievous grin on his face and a strange twinkle in his eyes.

"When is it?", Vali asked. His grin getting wider each second. He relished the thought of fighting Issei again.

"Actually, we still need to decide on a date. Most likely, six months give or take."

"That's all", and with that, Azazel fell back on the couch and opened a bottle of whiskey.

Lavinia was the first to get up.

"Well, Former Governor General, I need to leave" she curtsied, "After all, there's someone I need to train to beat."

"Azazel-sama, I'm gonna go. If this does happen, I need to get the old band back", Tobio said to his boss and vanished into a shadow alongside Jin.

"Father dammit Azazel, I have actual work unlike you. Next time, call us if it's actually important", Shemahazai said as he disappeared the sound of wings flapping reverberated throughout the room.

"It seems that a training session is in order… Ja ne, Azazel", Baraqiel said as lightning engulfed his entire form and he vanished.

Penemue just left muttering something about idiot husbands and paperwork.

Only Vali was left in the room with Azazel. Azazel stopped drinking and looked at Vali.

"Well, what will you do?", Azazel asked knowing the answer.

"I need to train. Issei will be there and we will fight again. Hold on, I need to talk to you about something. Just let me tell Arthur and Bikou", Vali said. He opened a CC and sent a group call to Arthur and Bikou. Vali relayed the information and the two were excited from what he could tell. Arthur said he would go to Pendragon Manor to get Le Fay while Bikou said he would go train with old man Wukong. He cut the link and looked at Azazel.

"Well kid, what did you want to talk about?" Azazel asked his adoptive son.

"I sensed Issei. He activated the Juggernaut Drive", Vali told him. Better to be blunt than beating around the bush.

Azazel had the mother of all spit takes. Vali wiped whiskey and spit off of his face. Azazel calmed down. Reasons of why it was impossible began to run through his head. Vali and Albion waited for Azazel's response seeing as his head was currently going through millions upon millions of scenarios.

"Vali…" Azazel finally spoke.

"That's impossible. Kuoh is under strict surveillance 24/7 after the Kokabiel incident. There's also the girls. If anything happened to Issei, Rias would have contacted Sirzechs and Akeno Baraqiel", Azazel said.

_Besides, I would never forget that malicious power after the first time. And we would have heard of Kuoh's destruction over the news. The girls would have notified any of the faction leaders about it, _Azazel thought.

Vali and Albion just sat there. Vali clenched his fists.

**{So he doesn't believe us}**, Albion said to Vali.

"_Why would he? We were the only ones who felt it"_, Vali replied.

"I'm going to start training for this game or whatever", Vali said leaving Azazel alone with his thoughts. Azazel smiled at the boy before drinking the rest of the bottle. He looked at all the papers on his desk.

He sighed.

"We need more people on filing. There's too much paperwork going around. I can't even focus on my own projects."

He noticed his CC flashing indicating a message had been left.

"I hope whoever just called likes my voicemail."

**Lilith, October 14, 2019, 10:30 AM**

Today was the day the faction leaders decided to meet to discuss the World Class Game. Despite their being a lot of paperwork, the various leaders decided to just dump it on their staff for a day just to relax with the other leaders.

The meeting was held in Lilith in the ballroom of the Ars Nova. This was a small isolated meeting. Pantheons from all over would come and several pantheons would finally come out of isolation. The release of Trihexa had changed their minds about their isolation policies and they decided to take a different approach on foreign diplomacy.

Azazel teleported into the room the sound of wings flapping accompanying him. He saw the Four Maou and Grayfia already their. Sirzechs saw Azazel and waved for him to come over.

Ajuka, the current Beelzebub and Head of the Department of Technology and inventor of the Evil Pieces, had short green hair and wore green robes over a white tunic and black pants. He looked over to who Sirzechs was waving at. Serafall waved as well, while Falbium just smiled. Grayfia looked as stoic as ever but inwardly, she was glad someone actually showed up.

"Azazel", Sirzechs said, "Good to see you."

"So how's work?" Azazel said smiling knowing how swamped they merely smiled back.

"Well, people came forward to help is with the work so just a few more papers and we'll be done", Sirzechs said.

Azazel whistled. If Penemue heard this, she would force everyone in the Grigori to help with the paperwork.

Suddenly the room shook violently as various gods entered the venue.

In a vortex of fire, Amaterasu appeared first. Amaterasu was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She had sky blue hair and green eyes that shine brightly. On her head was a crest that represented a Sun. Its appearance seemed to vary with the time of day. She wore a white and red kimono with a red obi.

After her, Yasaka was the next to step out of the fire. She had blonde hair with a pair of fox ears on top. Behind her were nine golden tales. She wore a gold miko clothing that revealed a great portion of her massive assets.

Kuroka came out last. She had black hair and black cat ears on top. Her golden eyes shone with mischief. She wore a black revealing kimono. Around her torso was a yellow obi.

After them, three gods arrived. The first was Zeus, the Greek God of Thunder and King of the Gods. He had black hair and electric blue eyes. He had a short beard. Zeus wore a blue pinstripe suit with a red tie and a thunderbolt lapel.

Next was Poseidon, who arrived a sea mist. He, like his brother, had dark hair and green eyes. He wore a fisherman's hat, a Tommy Bahama shirt, and khaki shorts. He held a fishing pole in his left hand which morphed into a golden trident.

The last member of the Greek Pantheon to arrive was Hades. He wore the same black robes and looked entirely like a skeleton. No, he literally looked like a skeleton. Two blue flames danced in his eye sockets.

Odin arrived via the Bifrost as rainbow lights beamed into the room. He walked out smiling. Next to him was Frigg, the wife of Odin and Goddess of Foresight and Intelligence.

Other gods began arriving after them each in their own. Members of the Chinese Pantheon arrived at the same time, the Persian Gods appeared in various flashes of light. The others had to cover their eyes as Ra arrived in the room with Isis and Osiris right next to him muttering something about crazy old sun gods and never letting Ra drive the boat ever again. Set sat on the ground trying to hold in his lunch.

The flapping of wings filled the hall as Michael and Gabriel arrived last. The other Archangels couldn't be bothered or in Azrael's words: "A complete waste of time."

Serafall growled as she saw her rival. Gabriel saw her and smirked infuriating the Maou.

After Michael and Gabriel's arrival, the deities began to move conversing upon themselves, happy for a day to relax.

"Michael, I'm glad you're here", Sirzechs said as he and the five other devils walked up to the two Archangels.

"I'm just glad to have a day off," Azazel said. Shemahazai, who had come shortly after the Greek Gods, sighed. He was always like this even after the Great War.

"Hey Gabby, how's Az", Penemue said to Gabriel. She was worried since she hadn't heard from her older sister in a while. Gabriel merely smiled at her.

"Az is doing fine. You know she doesn't like public events", Gabriel said.

"Soooo, Gabriel", Serafall said walking over. She thrust her chest out making her breasts jiggle. Gabriel looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, little one", Gabriel said knowing it would infuriate her. Serafall puffed her cheeks before asking,

"How's work?"

"It's fine. Mostly, I'm with Uriel and Raphael trying to fix the Third Heaven. You know, Trihexa and all."

Penemue stood to the side with Grayfia as she watched her older sister and the Maou converse. However, their auras told a different story. Grayfia was rubbing her forehead preparing for the inevitable onslaught of damage charges.

Over to the side, the males conversed. Mostly about how their factions were. Sirzechs looked up when he saw Amaterasu approaching them.

"Sirzechs-san, my two friends have told me about the Sekiryuutei. It's all they talk about now. Even Kuroka just started working for me just to be at his side. Could you possibly set up a meeting for me with him?~" Amaterasu said immediately unleashing her puppy eyes.

The other two Biblical leaders turned their heads to avoid such cuteness while Sirzechs melted and said,

"Of course, Amaterasu-sama. I'll have my sister contact him and tell him to go to Kyoto to meet with you. Are your siblings going to be their as well?"

"Yes, Tsuki-chan and Suu-chan will be their. Otou-sama and Okaa-sama also want to meet with him. After all, he was the one who saved the Princess of Kyoto", Amaterasu said with a blinding smile. Sirzechs smiled. If Izanagi and Izanami wanted to meet with Issei, they must be really grateful to him.

Meanwhile, Odin and Azazel looked on at how Amaterasu wanted to meet Issei.

"Damn that boy. Even Ami-chan and Tsuki-chan too? How lucky can he get?" Odin said envy present in his voice.

"I'd like to say he learned from the best but even I can't figure out how he would get Amaterasu of all people to want to meet him", Azazel said.

"Even I couldn't get multiple women to want me at once", Zeus said. The boy reminded him of his nephew. The brat had all the girls at their camps wanting him.

"I hear ya. At least he's not here to hog all the beautiful women", Poseidon said as he eyed the female populace. Unfortunately, they all heard it and began glaring at him sending him. Gabriel just sighed at the sea god's antics.

Poseidon gulped and shrank in his seat. Zeus, Odin, and Azazel began laughing.

"It seems that that Sally woman and Amphitrite have been keeping you in line brother! You're shaking like a leaf!" Zeus said keeling over from laughter.

Azazel couldn't say anything as he struggled to breathe.

Odin wasn't much better as he laughed at the poor sea god.

"At least my wife still looks at me!" Poseidon said making Zeus freeze.

"Plus, I don't have two daughters that want to chop my balls off", he finished driving the nail in. Zeus sat in his seat comically depressed with a storm cloud raining over his head. The whole room sweatdropped.

Azazel laughed at Zeus' misery but stopped when Poseidon said,

"And Azazel, at least I had at one point, two women wanting me. You had to seduce all your partners and I had just had to sit there." Azazel joined Zeus depressed. Penemue sighed. She couldn't believe that this man was her husband.

"My, my, this seems to be quite the party", a voice rang out. They all turned to the source of the voice and saw a young boy with blue green hair sitting their drinking tea. This was Shiva, one of the Trimurti and the Hindu God of Destruction. Next to him was a young girl with luscious black hair. She wore a yellow robe and black shoes. This was Parvati, the Hindu Goddess of Love and Beauty. Why she took the appearance of such a young girl was unknown but people thought that it was because she wanted to match Shiva.

The party continued on. Drinks were drunk. Songs were sung with Gabriel and Serafall getting into a karaoke sing off with Serafall selecting various songs from different animes. Ajuka face palmed. His friend was such a weeb. At one point, Set challenged Shiva to an arm wrestling match. The match ended with a table being split in half and Set's hand being embedded into the floor.

In the middle of the festivities, Shiva froze. His eyes widened slightly for a split second before returning to normal. A third eye appeared on his forehead. Everyone froze and immediately went on guard. If Shiva opened his third eye, that meant that things were about to happen.

Shiva narrowed his eyes. He had felt the Sekiryuutei's power before but something was mixed in. Something old. He closed his third eye. The entire room sighed in relief. Parvati looked at her husband signalling that she sensed it too. Shiva nodded and looked to everyone and smiled.

"Sorry false alarm."

"Don't scare us like that Shiva-sama" Sirzechs said between breaths.

"My apologies."

A few minutes after the incident, things returned to normal. While they all partied, Michael walked over the Shiva. The god looked at the Archangel and a look of understanding passed between them. Something was happening to Issei. Michael walked back to the table that had Sirzechs and the other members of the Biblical Factions.

_Did Irina make it to Issei? She hasn't reported anything in four days_, Michael thought.

"Onii-sama" he heard his sister's voice call out.

"Are you all right?" Michael looked at Gabriel. He nodded and smiled. Gabriel narrowed her eyes but decided to ask later.

Several flashes of light illuminated the room. After they died down, there were several beings standing there. The two on the left were the Celtic Gods, Dagda and Lugh. Lugh had short black cropped hair. He wore a beautiful set of armor with the symbols of the Celts on them. In his right hand was the legendary spear used to slay Balor, Brionarc. On the left side of his waste, there was a sword equally as legendary, Fragarach.

Dagda stood next to him. He was an old man who looked similar to Odin.

Next to the two were a man and a woman. They were the chief gods of the Aztec Pantheon. They were Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl. The creator deities of the Aztecs. Ometecuhtli was a man with tan skin and red hair. He had silver eyes and wore a robe with glittering lights like stars. Omecihuatl was a beautiful woman with blue hair and tan skin. She had gold eyes and wore a robe that looked like a tapestry of the Earth.

Next to them was Belebog and Chernobog. The Slavic Deities of Light and Darkness. Belebog was a tall man with blonde hair and he wore a golden suit. He had golden eyes and wore a crown of antlers. Chernobog was different from his brother. He was skinnier and had a swimer's build. He wore purple robes and had piercing violet eyes. On his head, he wore a crown that had two curved ram horns.

"I am Dagda, Chief God of the Celtic Pantheon", Dagda introduced himself bowing. Everyone else returned the bow.

"I am Lugh, Celtic God of Light" Lugh said introducing himself in the same manner though much more relaxed.

"I am Ometecuhtil. But please call me, Om", Om said giving them a smile.

"My name is Omecihuatl. Please call me Meci" Meci said. On her face was a dreamy smile.

"I am Belebog, one of the Chief Deities of the Slavic Pantheon and God of Light" Belebog said. His voice was smooth and calming.

"I am Chernobog, one of the Chief Deities of the Slavic Pantheon and God of Darkness", Chernobog said. His voice was different and commanded power.

Sirzechs was the first to speak up.

"Thank you for coming. We're glad to have you here."

"Likewise little one" Meci said.

"We are grateful for this invitation. Our pantheons were heavily damaged by the Beast. It was a wake up call for all of us", Chernobog said. A black beast of pure shadow resembling a wolf cub rose from the ground and ran to Chernobog.

"Well, we hope you feel welcome among your fellow deities," Gabriel said smiling.

"If I may", Belebog said.

"We would like to start negotiations. My brother and I are very busy at the moment. My niece and her husband have just told us that our nephew woke up", Belebog said. Chernobog looked down.

"Of course, we shall begin discussions of an alliance between the Aztec, Slavic, and Celtic Pantheons and the rest of the Supernatural World," Sirzechs said.

"Don't worry. We will all accept on three conditions", Om said.

"First, if any event of this scale ever happens again. You, all of you, will help us and every pantheon. Second, no more inter-pantheon wars. I'm talking to you Biblical Pantheon. Third, we must form a global council to deal with these situations that involve two pantheons", Dagda said.

Sirzechs looked at them. He felt happy. These conditions were perfect for him to agree to. A world council of the supernatural would make dealing with these threats easier.

"Lord Dagda. Lord Om. Lady Meci. Lords Belebog and Chernobog. We graciously accept this terms. We, the Biblical Pantheon, have lost many homes and loved ones to the Beast. I swear to you that we will work to accomplish that a war never happens again. You have my word and the rest of everyone else's in the room" Sirzechs stood up and bowed to the deities in front of him.

They stood there pantheon that stole, butchered, and raped their followers was now bowing before them. They looked at each other and nodded. Dagda decided to go first.

"We, the Celtic Pantheon, accept an alliance between the Celts and the Supernatural World. May our friendship be eternal!"

Om went next.

"We, the Aztec Pantheon, accept an alliance between the Aztecs and the Supernatural World. May our friendship be fruitful!"

Belebog and Chernobog went next speaking at the same time.

"We, the Slavic Pantheon"

"Accept an alliance"

"Between the Slavs and the Supernatural World"

"'May our enemies quake in fear before our combined might.'"

Everyone in the room cheered in happiness. The entire supernatural world was united. Even Shiva had a small smirk on his face.

Sirzechs walked up and summoned three sets of treaties. The gods took turns signing them.

"Now that we have that out of the way. We need to speak about the World Class Rating Games. I believe that's the reason that we are all here," Azazel said.

"Rating Games", the new deities spoke.

Sirzechs smiled.

"Well, it goes something like this…"

* * *

After Sirzechs finished explaining, the new Gods looked at each other and nodded. Lugh and Chernobog had grins on their faces. The other three just shook their heads. They just met and now they were best friends.

"Bring it on! Bring them all on!" Chernobog said clearly excited at the prospect at fighting such powerful opponents.

"Seconded!" Lugh yelled while slamming his fist into his chest.

Dagda and Belebog shook their heads. Those two.

"So, you're not against the idea or anything?" Sirzechs said cautiously.

"Against it. No, I believe that this would be a great oppurtunity to bring our pantheons closer together", Dagda said.

"I agree as well," Meci said, "Let them fight in these games. It'll be just like back then, except we won't wake up to our brother complaining about people coming into the Afterlife missing organs."

"Since my brother already spoke for me, yes. I believe this will be a great opportunity to prevent future wars", Belebog said smiling.

"Alright, why don't we discuss the rules," Ajuka said. They spent the next few minutes discussing Ajuak's rough draft of rules. On the projector, several rules were changed or crossed out. In the end, they came up with this.

The rules went something like this:

_Anyone can register as a King._

_A King can register anyone on his team as long as the targeted person isn't in another team._

_Devils with multiple Evil Pieces will be treated as 1 Piece for this tournament with the exception of Gods or God-level which will automatically be counted as 2 pieces or 8 Pawn pieces._

_Each team starts with 1500 points and they would accumulate more points by playing matches._

_The 20 teams with the most points will proceed to the final round: A Battle Royale _

_The winning team will have their "wish" granted_

_Registration will be in Lucifaad. Please go to the old Capitol Building, Ars Goetia, to register and receive your pieces. The pieces will only work in the Tournament._

_A scroll will be given to each king participating to alert them for upcoming matches, leaderboards, watching live matches, and to register their teammates._

All that was left was a name. Several names were thrown around and they decided to settle this the old fashion way. A game so ancient that it was thought to be older than Ophis and Great Red.

Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Several rounds were played. Tears were shed during the game as each deity was eliminated even Shiva.

Now only Azazel and Amaterasu remained. It was the final round. Amaterasu's proposed name was the Tournament of Power. Everyone loved the name and wanted her to win. Azazel's was shameless and narcissistic even for him. If he won, they could call it the Azazel Cup.

'"Rock-Paper-Scissors _SHOOT!_'"

Time slowed as their signs were shot forward. A winner was decided.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" everyone screamed in anger and frustration. Some wanted to vomit their lunch at the name. Amaterasu was on her hands and knees staring at the ground. Her eyes were blank and tears dripped out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry everyone," the sun goddess said crying comically.

Azazel, however, was cheering like there was no tomorrow.

"Hell to the fuck yeah. Azazel Cup for the win bitches! Thank all mighty rock! No wonder Dad used you to make the Earth!", Azazel said jumping up and down.

"Alright everyone! Meeting's over! We still need to finish our work" Ajuka said clapping his hands together.

Everyone nodded and began to leave. Amaterasu left in a vortex of black fire, still sniffling. Only the Biblical Factions were left.

"Oh, before you guys leave, I want to talk about Ise-kun", Sirzechs said to his fellow leaders.

Michael and Gabriel raised their eyebrows. Did Sirzechs know what was happening to Issei? If so, they would have to come forth with the information they had. But his next words threw that notion out the window.

"I believe Ise-kun should be promoted. He has done so much for us so we decided, along with the Council, to promote him to High-Class," Sirzechs said beaming at them.

"Yes, I believe that would be great," Michael said not at all thinking that was what Sirzechs would say.

"Yes, the boy has done a lot. Too much for someone his age. Azazel raised a good kid. I didn't think that was possible," Shemahazai said poking fun at Azazel.

Azazel rolled his eyes but nodded.

"So… when do we tell him?" Azazel said. He wanted to be there when Sirzechs and the others told him. He felt an immense amount of pride for the boy.

"My sister said that she would be bringing her peerage to the Underworld in a few days. Says that she wants to introduce us to someone. We'll tell him then," Sirzechs said.

"I'll have the lab ready to take his pieces out by Sunday," Ajuka put in. He was excited to see how Issei's pieces would come out. He was a scientist first, Maou second.

Michael and Gabriel looked at each other and nodded.

"If that is all, we must leave. Thank you for having us," the sound of wings filled the room and Michael and Gabriel disappeared.

"We'll go as well. Get out of your hair," Azazel said as he, Penemue, and Shemahazai left in the same manner.

Sirzechs looked at his other friends who also bid him goodbye and teleported using their respective magic circles. He was jealous of that instant teleportation Michael, Gabriel, and Azazel used. He decided to look into it later.

"Things are looking up. Thank you, Issei," Sirzechs said before leaving with Grayfia in their own magic circle.

* * *

**Sixth Heaven, October 18, 2019, 4:30 PM**

Michael and Gabriel appeared in a flurry of feathers. The minute they arrived an angel came flying down towards them.

"Lord Michael! You need to come quick something's wrong with the System!" the angel said. Michael took off before the angel could tell him what was wrong. He arrived at the level where the System was and saw two angels being treated by Raphael.

"What happened?" Michael asked them, his tone urgent.

"The System began to flash and signified that a Longinus User had died and the Longinus was searching for a new host. As per your orders, we went to tell you but the entire level ruled by the System was shut down. We couldn't even access the Axis Mundi. We were stuck here for three days. Just few moments ago, the System went back to normal," an angel reported while his wounds were being treated by Raphael.

"Get some rest. I'll find out what happened," Michael said as he disappeared in flap of his wings. He arrived at the apex of the Seventh Heaven. Unlike the other Heavens, the entire Heaven had a night sky filled with various stars and galaxies. Several planets hovered over head. Pillars stood tall reaching the sky as if supporting it. In the center was a throne. Behind it was a halo of white and blue light. The Throne of God. The Heart of All Creation. The System. Michael sat on the throne and accessed the System. For the first time since taking control, Michael couldn't locate the anomaly. He tried again but still couldn't find it. He opened his eyes and saw his sister and Joker, Dulio Gesaldo, standing before him.

"Dulio, contact Azazel. Gabriel, contact Ajuka. Have them take a look at the Longinus Wielders," Michael ordered. Dulio nodded and disappeared in a cross.

"Brother, do you think-" Gabriel said after she cut the link between her and Ajuka.

"I pray to our father that it isn't," Michael stood up from the throne and looked at the Viewing Pools. An image of Earth rippled into existence.

_Irina. Keep him safe, _was all he thought.

* * *

**Grigori HQ, Azazel's Lab, October 18, 2019, 6:30 PM**

Azazel cut the link between him and Michael's Joker. Something was wrong with the System and Michael had wanted him to go over the Longinus Wielders

He started with the Grigori. So far, he had accounted for Tobio. The man was walking Jin across the courtyard. Seeing he was fine, Azazel decided to find Vali. After ten minutes, he found Vali in the training area.

"What do you want Azazel?" Vali asked sweat dripping off his brow.

"Have you noticed anything strange the past week? Pertaining to you perhaps?" Azazel asked.

Vali wiped the sweat off and looked at Azazel, his brow raised.

"Something? No, I just trained all week for the games you mentioned. Other than that, nothing much," Vali replied with a battle hungry grin etched all over his face.

_So it's not Vali or Tobio_, Azazel thought.

"Why?" Vali said.

"Nothing, Ajuka just wants me to take inventory of all the Longinus Users to prepare the arenas for you guys," Azazel quickly came up with an excuse.

**{He's hiding something.}**, Albion said to Vali.

"_I know,"_ Vali replied back.

"If you'll excuse me," Azazel left. He opened a CC and saw 25 new messages. Most from Issei. He shook his head. Not now. He called Mephistopheles and asked about Lavinia. He said that she was fine and was in her room plotting her win over the **Last Judgement of God**.

_It's not Lavinia either_, Azazel said.

He then contacted Shiva, who assured him that the users of Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker, and True Longinus were all fine.

"What happened?" Shiva asked. Azazel sighed. Of course, he would notice.

"Michael thinks something is wrong. He just wants me to check all the Longinus wielders," Azazel replied over the link.

"I see. I advise you to check on the Red Dragon boy last," Shiva said and severed the link.

Azazel looked confused. Issei was fine. The girls were there for him. They would have known if something happened to him.

Azazel continued on his check and visited Valerie. She was awake talking to Gasper. He asked her the same questions he asked Vali and Tobio. She looked confused and replied with a no and pulled out Sephiroth Graal. Azazel thanked her and returned to his lab.

_Not her either_, Azazel thought as he sat on his couch. What was going on?

A CC appeared and he answered it.

"Azazel", a voice rang out from the circle.

"Ajuka, you got anything?"

"Innovate Clear hasn't awoken yet and I just saw Mitsuki with the Agares Peerage so that rules out Telos Karma. Sairaorg is also okay so it's not Regulus Nemea."

Azazel's eyes grew wide.

_No, it can't be_, he thought.

_The girls would have told us if something happened._

He severed the link between him and Ajuka after saying that he needed to check on Issei. He called Issei on his CC. The circle began to ring.

_C'mon Issei pick up!_ Azazel was worried. It can't be Issei. The boy was too stubborn to die. The battle with the Beast proved that.

The contact cut with it stating that the contact he was trying to call was not available and to try again later.

"Damnit!" Azazel slammed his fist on the ground.

_Think. Something this big happening to Issei wouldn't have gone unnoticed. If something happened, then Issei would ha- The messages!_

He opened his CC again and opened the messages. His eyes grew wide. 17 messages from Issei!

"Play all messages from Issei Hyoudou!" Azazel stood up and yelled at the circle. The circle beeped and began to play.

"_Azazel-sensei, I'm not feeling so well. Please contact me if you get this."_

_Beep_

_Sensei, it hurts. The Pieces. They're hurting me. Please help me. Please call me._

_Beep_

Azazel just stood there frozen as more messages began to play each one more horrific than the last.

_Beep_

_Sensei. Hehehe. She's dead sensei. Irina. Her head. They mounted it in my room. She wants me to come to her. I think I should do it. Then, the pain will stop. The voices. The nightmares. That goddamned Dragon will stop haunting me. HAHAHAHAHAHA! I'll finally be free and then I can be with her in piece._

_Beep_

_Sensei… I'm calling to say that I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. Tell Irina I'm sorry and that I love her. I can't stand the pain. The nightmares. The hallucinations. I'm broken sensei. Thank you for being a better father than my own ever could._

_All messages from Issei Hyoudou played. Playing messages from-_

Azazel swiped the CC. He gripped his desk, his bangs shadowing his face. The wood cracked as an immense aura of light began to form around Azazel.

"Issei… What happened to you?"

"_JUST WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU!"_

* * *

Throughout the Grigori, massive seismic tremors were felt. The sky darkened and lightning began to slam into the ground. Intense winds swept through the entire area uprooting trees. Vali covered his face as he was battered by the intense wind and rain. He squinted and saw the eye of the storm was around the tower.

**{It seems that something has happened.}**, Albion pointed out.

"No shit Sherlock!" Vali yelled as he flew his way through the storm. He got inside and saw Penemue, Tobio, Baraqiel, and Shemahazai. Penemue didn't waste anytime and grabbed Vali teleporting them to Azazel's lab.

When they got there, Tobio and Vali fell to their knees covering their ears and closing their eyes. Vali felt his skin beginning to burn. The other Cadre put a hand in front of their face. This Light was intense. The screeching sound was horrendous. Glass shattered around them.

"AZAZEL!" Penemue screamed at the top of her lungs. There he was kneeling. Eyes covered by his hair and tears streaming down his face. She pushed through the storm to reach him. When she got there, she grabbed him and embraced him. The light, noise, and storm died down. Azazel hugged her back with equal force.

Azazel released himself from her embrace. They all looked at him expectantly to answer their questions. Primary among them. What the fuck happened!?

"I NEED ANSWERS. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM THAT MADE HIM LIKE THIS! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT THE EVIL PIECES? DID THEY DO THIS?", Azazel practically screamed. He left for Hyoudou Manor in a flurry of feathers leaving his compatriots to wonder what happened though Vali had a sneaking suspicion.

* * *

**Hyoudou Mansion, October 19, 2019, 3:40 AM, Issei and Irina currently out for a late night dinner**

Azazel appeared in front of the gate. Wasting no time, he pushed it open and began to sprint to the mansion. He burst in but saw no one.

_They must all be asleep_, Azazel thought. But the lights were on in the living room. Strange. He also caught the signatures and scents of four males. Azazel made his way up to the third floor to Issei's room. Once he got to his room, the one on the end of the hall, Azazel pushed the door open. His eyes immediately grew wide. There were dried blood stains on the floor and on the bed. Investigating the room, he spotted a shiny metal sphere and a box.

"That's the recorder I gave him," Azazel said.

"Just what is going on? Maybe this will tell us what?"

He picked up the box and immediately dropped it. What was that? It felt like his life force was being drained. Azazel opened it and saw something horrible. It was Issei's evil pieces.

"What the fuck? That's impossible. How…" Azazel put the pieces together. This was what was hurting Issei. This was what the messages meant!

"I need to contact the Underworld. Everyone needs to see this!" He grabbed the recorder and telekinetically lifted the box before disappearing. The only sign he was ever there was the sound of wing beats and a single black feather.

* * *

**Lilith, Ars Nova, October 19, 2019, 4:15 AM**

Azazel appeared inside the Ars Nova and made his way to the offices of the Satans. He burst into Sirzechs' office where the others were celebrating the success of the treaty and the new game. They turned around when Azazel practically kicked the door in.

"Azazel! What are you doing here!?" Sirzechs demanded and noticed that he was carrying a recorder and a box.

"No now Sirzechs!" Azazel yelled. Everyone was shocked. Azazel was normally so jovial. They hadn't seen him like this since the Great War.

"Ajuka, I need you to look inside the box. Grayfia, I need you to play this. I still haven't see it myself," Azazel ordered as he handed the objects to their respective people.

"Azazel-sama. The recording is ready to play," Grayfia said.

"Good, we'll play it after Ajuka answers my questions."

Ajuka opened the box and saw… Evil Pieces?

"Evil Pieces?" Sirzechs asked as he picked one up. The minute he did, he dropped back in the box. What the hell! Those pieces, they were draining him.

"Azazel, where did you find these!?" he demanded.

The sound of wings filled the room as Michael and Gabriel appeared.

"Good, you're here. I found the cause of the glitch in the System", Azazel said.

"Glitch. There was a glitch?" Serafall asked.

"Yeah, Michael had me and Azazel account for all the Longinus Users," Ajuka said.

Azazel coughed getting their attention.

"As I was saying, I know the cause of the glitch."

Everyone looked not liking what he was about to say.

"It was the Boosted Gear… Issei was the cause."

Everyone's eyes grew wide save for Michael and Gabriel as the bomb was dropped by Azazel.

Azazel noticed his brother and sister's reactions and narrowed his eyes.

"You knew?"

"We had a sneaking suspicion after we heard about the System and after what Irina told us," Gabriel said with a sigh. She didn't want to be right for once. Azazel nodded at her and directed his attention to Ajuka.

"First off, those are Issei's pieces. I found them in his room with the recorder I gave him for his birthday. Second, what can tell me about them?"

Ajuka picked up a piece and began to inspect it. His eyes narrowed as he felt the malicious aura of the pieces. This wasn't normal. The room was quiet until two people spoke up.

"What do you mean those are Issei's pieces!?" Sirzechs and Grayfia yelled the words finally sinking in.

"They're his. I found them in his room. They have traces of his aura on them. The pieces were in a box next to the recorder," Azazel explained to them that he had went to Issei's house because he wouldn't answer his calls and because of the voicemail he received.

"Here, I'll play one for you." Azazel opened his CC and played one of the messages.

"_Sensei, it hurts. The Pieces. They're hurting me. The girls… they're just not the same anymore. It hurts so much. Please help me. Please anyone.."_

Everyone was floored at Issei's tone. He sounded so hopeless.

"I have 16 more messages each one more horrifying than the last. This was the last one. I got it five days ago," he played the last message.

"_Sensei… I'm calling to say that I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. Tell Irina I'm sorry and that I love her. I can't stand the pain. The nightmares. The hallucinations. I'm broken sensei. Thank you for being a better father than my own ever could."_

Everyone went white this. Michael went deep into thought. Clearly, Irina had left some things out of her report. Gabriel looked at him with tears in her eyes. Issei was the last link they had to their niece, to Ellie.

Sirzechs and Grayfia had the worst responses. Grayfia was shaking struggling to keep her sobs in. Sirzechs looked like he aged several years. All in all, they looked broken.

"Right now, the only lead we have on Issei is this recording," Azazel motioned to the device sitting on the table, "and his pieces."

"Let's play the recording. Maybe we'll find out what happened… or if he's still… alive", Michael suggested.

The room shook and they all turned to see Sirzechs standing there covered in the Power of Destruction. Everything around him began to break down. Chairs. Tables. Molecules. The aura suddenly disappeared but Sirzechs still stood there teeth and fists clenched. Blood was dripping from his hands due to the force of the grip.

They all sighed in relief. If Sirzechs assumed his true form, well God help them all.

The temperature suddenly dropped. Frost began to form on the window panes. Everyone felt an icy chill slowly go up their spines. Serafall let out a breath and saw it mist over. They looked over to Grayfia. Her eyes were hollow and lifeless. A cold, freezing aura was around her. She looked like an Ice Queen. The aura vanished after a few minutes and she fell to her knees sobbing. The heartbreaking sobs were that of a woman who had lost her little brother. Sirzechs immediately ran over and embraced her.

They stood like that for five minutes before composing themselves. Sirzechs stood next to her. He looked old. The stress of work and possibly losing a loved one had gotten to him. Grayfia's eyes were red from crying. She still sniffled a little.

"Continue. We need to know what happened," Sirzechs said with Grayfia nodding.

Azazel nodded to the two and looked at Ajuka.

"Well, what are the results?"

"Not good. The Pieces contained traces of Trihexa's energy."

Everyone's eyes grew wide again. The Beast. Even after all this time, it was still there mocking them by hurting their closest friend and possibly, their greatest hero.

"The energy must have triggered a corruption. From what I can see, they only triggered when he was mentally unbalanced. The only one that comes to mind was when he entered a certain… _state._The corruption prevented him from utilizing his pieces in any way, shape, or form. On top of that, they were also...," Ajuka continued with his analysis but trailed off.

"ALSO WHAT!?" Grayfia demanded, needing answers on what happened to the boy she sees as her little brother.

"They were also draining his life force. The Pieces were draining him, killing him with the greatest pain possible, both physically and mentally." Grayfia collapsed into a chair at his answer.

"My guess? He would have been dead after two weeks. Best case scenario, he would have been mummified. Worst, we wouldn't even have a body to bury," he finished.

With that, Grayfia passed out unable to handle the stress.

Michael and Gabriel had their eyes wide. Issei went through this? Why didn't they send more help when Irina came to them with her concern?

Serafall was covering her mouth in horror. Issei was such as sweet boy. To have this happen to him, it was horrible.

Falbium, for once, was awake. He may not have known the kid personally but still respected him. No one should have to face something like that.

Azazel's hands were gripping the arms of the chair. His knuckles were white as he gripped it tightly.

_You went through all that Issei? Wait, state?_

"What do you mean by a certain state?" Azazel asked Ajuka. That question caught everyone's attention, even Grayfia, who had woken up.

"... It was the Juggernaut Drive. It's the only state that could have activated this corruption. In his Juggernaut Drive, Issei's mental state would have been extremely imbalanced," Ajuka replied with a tired sigh.

Azazel's eyes widened. He gripped the chair tighter causing the arms to snap.

Serafall was now sobbing while Falbium looked away and closed his eyes.

Michael and Gabriel looked down while silently praying to their father that Irina made it in time to help Issei.

However, Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Azazel felt the worst. Vali had told them about this a couple days ago and they decided to ignore it. If only they had spared a couple of resources, would things have turned out differently?

Grayfia began to sob again. If only she had listened to Vali that day, then her little brother would be fine. She would be there on family day at Kuoh standing behind him. Be there on his graduation. Now, that might not be possible because there was a chance he was dead.

_Oh Issei, I'm so so sorry. Please forgive me little brother._

Sirzechs just wrapped his arms around her but wasn't faring too well himself. He had tears streaming down his face.

Serafall suddenly spoke up.

"What about the recording? Maybe that has something."

The others stopped. They looked at the little ball with two buttons that held all the answers to their mystery. Grayfia grabbed it and hit play.

* * *

_Is this thing working?_

A hologram of Issei appeared in front of them. Grayfia covered her mouth. He looked horrible. Like a starved animal.

_**[It's on Partner. See that red light. Don't you have a camcorder. It basically works the same way.]**__, Ddraig's voice could be heard._

"_Thanks Ddraig. So if you found this, that means one of two things. One: My ass is grass and you need something to play at my funeral. Word of advise; please keep it simple. I'm a simple man with simple needs. Two: You finally decided to come and check on me and found this little guy."_

They all heard how hopeless he was. How horrible he looked. His hair had lost its vibrant brown color and his eyes were hollow and lifeless. His skin was practically glued to his bones. Their savior looked so weak.

"_It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to attempt something so crazy that Ddraig said that my chances of succeeding are so close to zero, it might as well be. So this is the final will and testament of Issei Hyoudou._

_In several hours, Ddraig and I will initiate Operation: KMS. For those of you not caught up with the terms, KMS means "Kill Myself."_

Their eyes grew wide. What kind of plan was it to deserve such a name?

"_In layman's terms, I'm going to remove my pieces and not die. Hopefully._

Remove his pieces! That was tantamount to suicide was what everyone in the room thought.

"_Why am I doing this? I have nothing to lose. Things aren't the same. The girls… they're…"_

_**[Partner…]**_

"_I'm fine Ddraig. Anyway, Irina is coming to help me with it. Hopefully, she can keep me stable enough to survive the process."_

Irina. She was involved in this. Why didn't she say anything? Azazel looked at Michael. Michael sighed. He had some explaining to do after this.

"_I just can't stand it anymore. The pain. The nightmares. I gave up sleeping but then they followed me to the waking world. I see her die over and over again. HAHAHAHA! I can't take it anymore. Even if it kills me, I will remove them._

_So to whoever, finds this. Tell Irina I love her and let's keep this between us okay. It'll be our little secret."_

And with that the recording died. Everyone remained silent. Azazel was the first to speak up.

"Well, we don't have to worry about planning a funeral."

The others looked at him. Was he really making jokes right now?

Azazel rolled his eyes.

"He's alive ya dumb nuts. How else would his pieces make it back to his room?"

Everyone forgot that little fact. Azazel spoke up once more.

"Right now our first priority is finding him. If not to set things straight, then to make sure he's okay."

Everyone nodded.

"Michael. You have anything you want to share."

Michael sighed.

"We actually knew Issei entered the Juggernaut Drive."

"WHAT!?" Grayfia screeched. She grabbed the Archangel by the collar and pinned him to the wall. Michael looked at her without fear. His next words broke her.

"We assumed you knew."

She dropped him and collapsed back into her chair. Sirzechs held her hand and could not bring himself to meet the angel's eyes.

"Who'll tell Rias?" Serafall said.

"Yeah, we should tell her. But keep the reasons of why to yourself. At the moment, we don't know the whole story. Right now, we're just as much to blame," Azazel said. They all nodded. Sirzechs finally stood.

"I will tell her," Sirzechs said as he grabbed the box. Grayfia grabbed his sleeve signalling that she wanted to be there. He formed a transportation circle and teleported to Hyoudou Manor.

After they left, no one dared to speak.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 19, 2018, 9:45 AM, Issei and Irina are in the Grove**

Right now, it was about to be midmorning in Kuoh. The trees had turned into a beautiful orange color. The path that lead to Hyoudou Manor was like a cornucopia of reds and oranges. All in all, the scenery was gorgeous. Coupled with the crisp autumn breeze, it was the perfect morning.

A group of people began to approach the main estate. The group consisted of the ORC, Ravel, and their boyfriends.

Seeing the massive house, Tatsuya asked, "Hey, who lives there?"

He was surprised to say the least. He had lived in Kuoh his entire life and had never seen that place before. The other men agreed having never seen such an extravagant house in their town.

"That's Issei's house," Xenovia told them in a dismissive manner.

They froze. Issei's house. Hiruko remembered the time he stared at Mitsuki for five seconds before being thrown across the hallway by Issei.

"Hey c'mon!" Akeno yelled.

They reached the door. Rias knocked. No response.

"Issei, open up!"

She knocked again. No response again.

"Maybe he's not here?" Ravel said.

"Not possible. It's Saturday. He's here. He's probably training," Rias replied. She reached for the handle and the door opened. The men, bar Kiba, froze when they saw a familiar woman sitting on the couch. Mitsuki looked as if she had just woken up and was eating Krave cereal in grey sweats. She was also wearing a sleeveless undershirt that accentuated her curves in the chest area. A movie was on. _How To Train Your Dragon 3._

Mitsuki lazily turned her head to see who walked in.

"Oh. It's just you guys."

"Why didn't you open the door?" Rias asked impatiently.

"Why didn't you bring your keys?" she retorted.

"Is she a Devil too?" Eren asked Asia. The boys had been briefed on the true status of the girls and have been heavily informed of the supernatural world prior. In Tatsuya and Eren's case, they were more or less familiar as their parents were ex-Onmyouji.

"Yeah, that's Mitsuki Hyoudou. She's a Mid-Class Devil in rank only. She's the wielder of Telos Karma," Asia replied. The three men were shocked. This girl in front of them wielded a weapon that could kill Gods.

"Oh Kiba, I left you some cereal. Also, Tsubaki called and said she's free today," Mitsuki said smirking. Kiba's face turned red.

"Where's Issei, Mitsuki?" Xenovia asked. The other girls wondered the same thing.

"Out and about. I dunno. I haven't seen him since I left for Agares House," Mitsuki lied through her teeth.

Rias and the others frowned. Issei wasn't here. That was strange.

"Did Irina get back?" Kiba asked.

"Nope. Still out doing groceries."

The ORC left Mitsuki to eat cereal and watch movies and made their way to the library. Their intent. Training and studying for the Azazel Cup. With new teammates and her ace in the hole named Issei Hyoudou, Rias had no doubt she would win.

"Any questions before we get started?" Rias asked crossing her arms underneath her massive breasts. The three paused and shook their heads. They began to look around for books on combat, magic, and the various denizens of the Supernatural World. Their minds drifted to what they learned about the house's owner.

_Issei Hyoudou is the wielder of Boosted Gear and the one who helped defeat Trihexa._

They shivered. The man was capable of doubling his power every ten seconds and defeated the Apocalypse Beast. He was a monster in his own right.

After finding the right books, the ORC brought them to the training fields. Just as they were about to begin, they were interrupted by a red light.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared and Sirzechs and Grayfia was in the room. They both looked broken, Grayfia especially.

"Onii-sama, what are you doing here? Grayfia too? What's going on?" Rias was surprised. She hadn't seen her older brother in five months even when the Games were announced, it was Serafall who told her.

"Rias, who are they?" Tatsuya asked eyeing the man and woman.

"That's my older brother and one of the Four Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer," Rias answered with pride. She took her status as the sister of Lucifer very seriously and took much pride in it. She was practically the Princess of the Underworld.

The men paled. The Lucifer was standing in front of them. A being who could wipe them out with his pinky.

Sirzechs and Grayfia eyed the three men and took a note to ask later.

"Rias… we have something to tell you."

Rias went stiff. She didn't like where this was going. Her brother's tone made her uneasy.

"Now, we need you to stay calm," Grayfia said as she took the box from Sirzechs' hands and gave it to her.

Rias gingerly took the box and opened it. She felt horrible as if she knew what was in the box. She opened the lid. The box fell and its contents spilled on the ground. Eight Pawn Pieces.

Rias stood there staring with blank eyes. The others began crying. Akeno had tears streaming down her face. Koneko and Xenovia just watched with tears in their eyes shaking and releasing a heavy pressure. Asia and Ravel looked away sobbing. The men tried to comfort their girlfriends but couldn't find the courage to do so. All the while Kiba just looked on. He knew about the pieces. After all Issei and Irina told him.

"NonononoNONONONONO!" Rias said shaking her head.

"How did this happen!"

"We don't know. Azazel came to talk to Issei about training and the Boosted Gear and found them on his desk. But we do know he's alive. We're organizing a search party to look for him," Sirzechs said.

"Please Sirzechs-sama, let us help!" Akeno begged.

Sirzechs shook his head.

"Focus on the games. Leave finding him to us. I promise you. We'll have him back here."

As they turned to leave, Grayfia asked something that had been bothering her since they got here and she saw the boys. Mitsuki had told them that they took their boyfriends to the training yard and passed it off as a joke but now…

"Rias, you and the girls were here. Would happen to know why Issei would resort to something like this?"

They froze. Koneko remembered the last time she saw him. He looked emaciated. Rias and Akeno remembered walking past his room and seeing him on the ground, while Xenovia and Ravel remembered his state at school. Asia was the worst. She remembered when Kiba told her to call Sirzechs to get Issei help.

It was their fault. They did this.

The men comforted them reassuring them that he was fine and it wasn't their fault. But deep down, they knew.

"We'll leave you to your training. Remember, the Games are in spring. Maybe late winter if things move fast," Sirzechs and Grayfia formed a transportation circle and left.

The girls were still crying, their boyfriends trying to comfort them. Kiba just watched. He felt no pity. A CC appeared and was flashing but disappeared. The girls didn't notice. Kiba walked off and entered the house and sat next to Mitsuki, who was currently eating a third bowl of Krave.

Kiba saw her holding an empty bowl out to him. He accepted and filled the bowl with cereal, then milk. He began eating when his CC appeared again. This time, he answered it before it could vanish. Mitsuki looked at him.

"Hello?," a female voice was heard from the circle. He smiled and replied to the woman.

"Rossweisse, how are you?"

* * *

**Whew, long chapter. I posted early today. So now they know. And whose this at the end? Our favorite Valkyrie. Let me know in the reviews whether or not you want me to keep this Issei x Irina or if you want me to add Rossweisse into the mix. I already have a plan for Rossweisse but let me know what you guys think. Remember vote in the poll and review. Make it a great day/night or not. The choice is yours.**

***Repost***

**Five Virtual Cookies if you can figure out who the Final Judgement of God is.**


	6. Maiden Fury Birth of a New Eden

**Pyre: Wow, you guys really liked that last chapter. So, I decided to post a second one for today. Now, back to business. Shit is about to go down so hang on to your pants. Remember the poll is still up for Gods you want in the Azazel Cup. You can find it on my profile. Also keep telling me in the reviews if you want Rossweisse in this and someone mentioned Kuroka. Thank you all for supporting this story so far. You guys really are the best audience on the internet. *sniff***

**Ruby: Are you crying? Do you want a cookie?**

**Pyre: No, Red, just do the intro before Rooster Teeth sues me for taking you.**

**Ruby: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Asgard, Bifrost Terminal, October 20, 2019, 6:51 PM**

Rossweisse and Gasper stood in line waiting for their turn to step into the terminal. Rossweisse was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her late teens. She has long silver hair that ends just at the back of her knees. She was currently wearing a blue sundress and had a violet jacket over it. Around her neck was a red scarf.

Gasper was a short young man. He wore his hair in a bob cut and had violet-pink eyes. He wore the Kuoh Academy Girls uniform. He looked as saw Rossweisse fidgeting at her dress. He smiled at her.

"Rossweisse-sensei. I'm sure he'll like it."

She looked over at the young dhampir. He just kept giving her a smile. She sighed.

_Alright, Rossweisse. No need to worry. Issei will like this dress. I hope he's feeling better though_, her mind thought back to her conversation with Kiba the day before.

**Flashback**

"_Kiba. I was getting worried. No one was answering my calls," Rossweisse said in relief._

"_No, everything's fine. The girls are just busy and Issei was sick. He's better now though," Kiba replied on the other end._

_Rossweisse looked confused. Issei. Sick? How? Devils don't get sick and even if they do, it passes quickly anyway._

"_What do you mean by sick?"_

"_Ddraig said that he was just feeling the aftereffects of being exposed to the Beast's aura. It was just a fever and some pains. Nothing to worry about," Kiba reassured her._

"_Sooo, when we will you get back," Kiba asked._

"_Tomorrow. I still have to pick Gasper up from the hospital," Rossweisse said to him._

"_Hey, did Odin tell you about the Azazel Cup?" Kiba asked._

_She groaned. That name was horrible. She liked Lady Amaterasu's proposed name better. Now, the name will stick since it was decided to be an annual tournament._

"_Yeah. It's one of the reasons I'm heading back," she said over the CC._

"_Hey… when you get back, I need you to promise me something. Whatever you do, don't maim anyone," Kiba's tone was serious but hesitant at the same time._

"_Huh? Why? What happened? Kiba?" Rossweisse tried to get an answer but Kiba said nothing._

"_Look, I'll hang up. You still need to pack I assume," Kiba said over the link._

"_Y-yeah. I'll see you tomorrow evening," Rossweisse cut the link._

**End Flashback**

"Ma'am!" She looked up and saw Gasper and a terminal attendant looking at her.

"Tickets and passport?"

"Oh right! Sorry," Rossweisse gave the woman her ticket and passport. She looked them over and stamped the ticket. The woman handed it back to her and Rossweisse stepped onto the Bifrost. Off to the side, Heimdallr activated it and she and Gasper disappeared in a beam of multicolored lights.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 20, 2019, 7:10 PM**

The mood inside the house was depressing to say. At least, for the girls. The boys had gone home after training and the girls just sat on the couch.

Rias just stared blankly at the movie that was on not paying attention.

Akeno was holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.

Koneko was playing Skyrim on her Switch but from the looks of it, she wasn't focused.

Ravel just sat there, her food forgotten.

Xenovia had given up on polishing Durandal and stared at the movie like Rias.

Asia had her knees up to her chest and a few tears escaped from her eyes every now and then.

Kiba was sitting there with a small smile on his face at the earlier event that happened today.

**Flashback**

_Hiruko hit the ground as Kiba swiped him from under his feet. Tatsuya, Yuu, and Eren weren't doing any better either. They had dirt marks, small cuts, and light bruises. Kiba really put them through the ringer with training._

"_You're getting better," Kiba said. The boys puffed at the praise._

"_Still though, it's not enough. Kiba's not even going at 20%", Mitsuki called from the sidelines. She was so bored. Stupid brothers and their girlfriends. Maybe she should call a certain white haired half devil but that blonde tramp was probably with him. She bristled at the thought of the __**Eternal Ice Princess**__._

_The boys gawked at her. Not even 20%. They had felt they had made progress._

"_Kiba-san. We've been thinking about how strong you and Mitsuki are. Could you show us?" Eren asked after getting up._

_The mentioned two looked at each other and shrugged._

"_Sure. It may do you some good. Something to strive for," Kiba said. He entered a stance. All of a sudden, a sudden gust of wind caused them to cover their eyes. Kiba began a sword dance sending the boys into a state of awe. The power and pressure increased and they began to sweat._

_What the hell!, was there collective thought. Kiba's eyes glowed._

_**Glory Drag Trooper!**_

_An army of dragon knights appeared around him. Each one held a holy sword and radiated power equal to that of a mid class devil._

_The boys stared in shock at the power display. They felt weak and helpless. If Kiba was this powerful, how much more the Hyoudou Sister and Hyoudou himself?_

"_It seems they can still stand with this level," Mitsuki replied still bored. Kiba smiled._

"_Alright, since you can withstand this level of power, I'll go higher,'' Kiba said._

_Higher!?_

_Kiba formed a summoning circle that was pitch black with red curses circling around it. The air turned cold and a chill crept up their spines slowly, as if enjoying their fear._

_A black and red Zweihander with gold accents appeared in Kiba's hands. It gave off the feeling of death. A sword that can slay both man and God. The aura surrounding the sword affected them._

_What the hell is that blade, Tatsuya thought. His life flashed before his eyes the longer he looked._

_Eren had his hand over his mouth trying not to puke._

_Hiruko just stared, entranced by the blade's power._

_Kiba unsummoned it. Mitsuki looked slightly impressed and gave a small clap._

"_Not bad. You withstood Gram. Feel proud," Kiba said. It was true. They had a microscopic sliver of his respect._

"_Gram?" Eren said his memory on the swords foggy._

"_Yes, Gram. The Demonic Sword of the Emperor Gram. The Sword of Ruin. The Phantasmal Greatsword of the Felling Sky Demon, Balmung. The very same one Siegfried used to slay Fafnir. It's the strongest demonic sword with power rivalling Caliburn, the Sword of Selection, in strength," he explained._

"_Wanna give it a go, Mitsuki?" Kiba asked but a flash of light appeared._

"_Sup," the man said. He had black hair with blonde bangs. He wore a purple suit that parted in the middle exposing a portion of his chest. He had black pants and shoes._

"_Azazel-oji-san," Mitsuki waved._

"_Mii-tan!~" Azazel said crushing her in a hug. Mitsuki struggled to get out. Did her brother, Vali, and Ambriel have to go through this? No! It was always her because she was the youngest of the four. Penemue even did the same thing._

_Kiba was snickering at his surrogate sister's predicament. Yes, like Issei, Kiba thought of Mitsuki as a sister._

_The men paled. Azazel. Rias had said he was the strongest fallen angel in existence. The mentor of Issei Hyoudou._

"_What are you guys doing and who are they?" Azazel said while still rubbing Mitsuki's head._

"_We're training and they wanted to know about the Holy Swords. These guys are Sacred Gear wielders Rias and the others scouted, ojiji." Mitsuki lied. Her brother told her and Kiba to keep who they were a secret. Azazel eyed her and Kiba. They were hiding something from him. Azazel spoke up._

"_Oh, I got this one. The Four Holy Swords are stated to be relics created by my Father, God, but that isn't exactly true. The only one that's true is Excalibur. We'll go from weakest to strongest, Ascalon, Durandal, Caliburn, and Excalibur._

"_Ascalon, the Blessed Sword by which Force is Slain, is the invincible sword used by Saint George to slay a dragon. It is the weakest but is the ultimate dragon killing weapon. It's wielded by Issei Hyoudou," Azazel explained. He laughed when he saw the boys' faces became shocked and were instantly jealous. Why him?_

_Is that envy I see? Azazel thought._

"_Next is Durandal, the Peerless Blade or the Ultimate Unbroken Hallow. It, at max power, can cut through any defense. It's wielder is Xenovia Quarta," he had to hold in his laughter again. They didn't know? Guess not by the looks on their faces._

"_After that is Caliburn, the Golden Sword of the Victorious or the Sword of Selection. It is capable of breaking space and is currently the strongest. It's wielder is Arthur Pendragon, descendant of King Arthur, or in reality, Queen Altria Pendragon._

"_And lastly, Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. It was forged by my Father using the Earth's core and the collective wishes of victory and life from all living things on Earth. It's in pieces right now but the seven pieces are Rapidly, Destruction, Mimic, Blessing, Transparency, Nightmare, and Ruler. They are also wielded by Xenovia," Azazel explained. _

"_Once a Holy Sword reaches a certain level of power, they have a form of consciousness and select their wielders," Mitsuki explained to them._

_The boys looked down. These people were powerful. They made a promise to get stronger. To be able to match and surpass them. Especially Hyoudou._

_Azazel watched various emotions dance in their eyes. Envy and Ambition. He mentally scoffed. Their were Sacred Gears were average at best. Azazel bid them a good evening and went to the upstairs balcony._

**End Flashback**

He smiled then looked at the girls. They were really depressed. Mitsuki and Kiba just looked at them and rolled their eyes. She grabbed another handful of popcorn when she heard the door open. She turned her head and saw Irina holding a massive bag of groceries. Next to her was Rossweisse, who was holding another bag, and Gasper, who held a smaller bag.

"Hey everyone! Rossweisse is back!~" Irina was in a chipper mood. She had just been on a date with Issei earlier that day. When she got home, Issei had snuck into his room by flying to the window.

"Hello again!" The girls winced. Irina and Rossweisse. How they were going to tell them? Rias shook her head and steeled herself. She grabbed the box that had been laying on the table.

"Where's Issei-senpai?" Gasper spoke up tilting his head. He had stayed with Valerie at the hospital. His senpai had once told him that a man never gives up on family and friends so he stayed with Valerie to make Issei proud. Issei was like the older brother he never had.

Rias gulped.

"We don't know."

Rossweisse froze. All the color drained from her face. The way she said it bothered her.

"What do you mean you don't know?" she growled out. Rias just looked down. She motioned for them to sit. They obliged and sat down. Rias placed the box in front of them and opened it. Irina's eyes widened in fake horror and her hand flew to her mouth. Rossweisse just sat there staring off into space. Gasper started to feel faint.

Inside the box was Issei's pawn pieces.

_Senpai_, Gasper thought.

Rossweisse's bangs covered her eyes. A white-violet aura surrounded her and a heavy pressure fell upon the room. The entire house started to shake violently. She glared at Rias her eyes glow an eerie turquoise color.

"_YOU WILL TELL ME EVERYTHING. NOW!_" she ordered Rias. She nodded frantically out of fear.

* * *

After Rias finished explaining everything to them, Rossweisse fell back onto the couch. The pressure only got heavier and heavier. Irina let out some of her own to keep her from being pressed onto the floor. Rias was struggling to stay standing. The other girls were pressed onto the couch from the pressure while Kiba was surrounded by an aura to keep himself from being crushed. The only one unaffected was Mitsuki, who watched the whole thing.

The pressure disappeared and the girls sighed in relief. Irina looked at Rossweisse with worried eyes. She looked at Kiba and Mitsuki and an understanding came between them.

_Issei. Why? Why would they do this? Rias, I thought you- you,_ Rossweisse looked at the other girls.

"Don't tell me you're all the same," the guilty ones looked away. Irina spoke up.

"I was on a mission. I tried calling Issei but he wouldn't answer. When I got home, I was told that he was out," Irina said to her. Rossweisse looked at her gratefully. At least one of them stuck by him through all this.

All of a sudden, Gasper ran out of the living room and through the front door unable to handle the situation any longer. Kiba got up.

"I'll go after him," he said. Rossweisse looked at them. Her eyes were hard and hollow.

"Let me see if I missed anything here. You," she pointed at Rias and the others, sans Irina and Mitsuki, "decided it would be a great idea to go out with other men to see whether or not you guys were actually compatible with Issei! YOU DIDN"T EVEN THINK TO TELL HIM! He would have been upset at the notion yes but he would have let you do it if it meant that it was to see whether or not you were truly meant to be. I can't even begin to think where to go on from here! Why did you all think it was a good idea to go ahead with this without giving the man a heads up!"

The guilty company just sat there shivering out of fear. Each word she said just twisted the burning knife in their hearts. Rossweisse glared at them. She noticed Irina's reaction earlier. The others might not have but her reaction was obviously fake. She decided to confront her later.

_I need answers. Why did he do this? The girls can't be the only reason,_ she thought in worry about the man she loved.

_Someone has to have more answers,_ Rossweisse sensed for someone else in the house. She sensed _him _on the upper balcony. She got up and made her way up the stairs leaving the girls to wallow in their grief.

* * *

Kiba ran after Gasper but the little Dhampir was quick and small. He finally caught up with him. The Grove? He must have found it by accident.

The little Dhampir looked up with watery eyes.

"Kiba-senpai…"

He knelt down and hugged him.

"Don't worry Issei is fine," he said.

"How do you know that!? He could be dead! I mean, you saw his pieces!" Gasper yelled.

"Well, why don't you ask him yourself?" a familiar voice rang out from a tree branch. There he was sitting on a branch. Issei.

"Ise-senpai!" Gasper said happily. Issei hopped down and patted Gasper's head.

"How's Valerie, Gyasuke?" Issei asked. Gasper wasted no time telling him about how he stayed with her the whole time because of what Issei had told him. Issei just listened with a smile evident on his face.

**[It seems the kid did well in becoming the man he wanted to be.]**, Ddraig said. Ddraig had been awakened immediately after Mitsuki announced the Azazel Cup to them and so far, Issei's regained his full Balance Breaker. Due to him no longer containing pawn pieces, he no longer had Crimson Cardinal Promotion but in its place got something else, he dubbed it Lunar Cardinal Mode.

"Issei-senpai? What happened?" Gasper asked bringing Issei out of his thoughts. He looked to Kiba, who nodded. Issei sighed and explained everything to Gasper. The girls, The cheating. How he was dying. Him expelling his pieces.

Gasper couldn't believe it. It was true. Everything Rias told them in the house was true. Why? Issei was so loyal to them. He would have gone to the moon and back for them. Hell, he fought the Apocalypse Beast for them.

"Ise-kun," a female voice called out. Irina walked into the Grove.

"Hello Ga-kun," Irina said warmly, smiling. She stood next to Issei and Gasper could see it. Irina-senpai didn't betray Issei. He sighed in relief. At least, Issei-senpai still has Irina-senpai and possibly, Rossweisse-sensei. The four began talking animatedly about the upcoming Azazel Cup and possible teams. Issei suggested they all form a team until Kiba pointed out that technically, he and Gasper would have to fight for the Gremory Heiress. Issei waved them off and shook Kiba's hand and made him promise Issei to fight a good match when they met on the field.

* * *

Rossweisse climbed up to the fifth floor balcony and found who she was looking for. Azazel. He was leaning on the railing sipping a glass of whiskey.

"When did it all go to shit? First, Ellie. Now, Issei?" she heard him muttering to himself. She took slow, heavy steps towards Azazel. He turned around and greeted her in the same manner he always does.

"Oh, Rossweisse, welco-" he didn't even finish his greeting as Rossweisse grabbed him by the collar and slammed him to the pillar. The entire balcony shook and the pillar had small, spiderweb cracks where Azazel was pinned.

"What are you-"

"You will tell me what I want to know right now," her tone was even but she sounded so cold. Azazel was sweating in fear. The woman in front of him looked like Death himself. Just turn her eyes and hair black and she would look like Uncle Death.

"Your hand contains twenty seven bones. I will snap each and every one of them. Slowly. Then, I'll move to your forearm and proceed to break your ulna and radius. After that, I'll break your humerus into seven pieces. And once I'm done, I will heat a knife and slowly cut off that pathetic thing you call a penis if you don't tell me what I want to know. _What. Happened. To. Issei?_" she emphasized every word of her question. Azazel squealed and begged her to let him down saying that he'll tell her everything. Rossweisse dropped him and Azazel grabbed his glass. He sat down on a chair and motioned for her to do the same as it would take a while. He told her everything. The messages. The recording. The pieces.

After Azazel finished, he poured himself another glass. Rossweisse just looked down. She was trying to process what she just heard.

_His pieces were killing him. The Beast did this to his pieces. No. Wait. He said that the Pieces activated after Issei's mental state became unhinged and he activated the Juggernaut Drive. But the only reason he would have activated it was when he experiences an onslaught of negative emotions from a trau-,_ her eyes grew wide. They were the reason he entered the Juggernaut Drive. The girls cheating on him became too much and he entered that state triggering the corruption.

"You're missing a piece of information. The why," she informed him. Azazel raised his eyebrows in confusion. Did she know something they didn't? Seeing him looking at her expectantly, she continued.

"I think the girls are the reason behind this."

"We know that much."

"No, you don't. When you were here earlier, did you happen to see anyone...new?" Rossweisse waited for a response. Azazel looked deep in thought when his eyes grew wide.

"THEM! The boys that were here earlier. Mitsuki said that they were Sacred Gear Wielders the girls found. But… you don't think that…" Azazel prayed that she wasn't about to say what he thought she would say.

"Yes, they're cheating on him." The bomb was dropped and exploded with the figurative force of a million Tsar Bombas. Azazel just looked at her stupefied. The glass in his hand shattered from the grip. Rossweisse looked down angry.

"Why?" a word finally came out of his mouth after nearly ten minutes of silence.

"They said they wanted to see if they were truly compatible with Issei or in their words, 'To see if this was just puppy love from our rescue romance days'. To do this they went out with other men.", Rossweisse explained her theory to Azazel who looked on in shock.

"They did tell him, right? Because, Issei would have been upset at first but he would have understood their intentons," Azazel asked her desperately hoping for a yes.

Rossweisse shook her head.

"No, they didn't..."

"Akeno…" Rossweisse looked at him curiously. What did Akeno have to do with this?

"Oh my Dad, what will Baraqiel think when he hears this? Shuri would be disappointed if she was still here. God, I don't even want to think about how the Gremory Family will take this," Azazel lamented. Rossweisse went silent. Maou Lucifer and his wife loved Issei like a brother and Lord and Lady Gremory already approved of Issei as Rias's future husband.

"We need to find him," she said to Azazel. He nodded. The situation was worse than he thought.

_I need to get more information on those boys_, Azazel got up.

"Where are you going?" she said.

"I'm going to tell the rest of them what I just learned," Azazel said and teleported to Lilith. After he left, Mitsuki walked out from behind the door. Rossweisse was surprised. Did she just hear everything?

"Follow me," was all she said before jumping off the balcony and spreading her wings. Rossweisse spread her wings and followed suit. After a few minutes of flying, they landed in a small glade. She started crying when she saw him. There in front of her was Issei. He gave her a smile and she ran up to him and enveloped him in a crushing embrace. He hugged her back smiling and stroking her hair while whispering soothing words into her ear.

"Issei! Issei! You're alive! Thank Odin! You're alive!" Rossweisse sobbed out tightening her hug. The others smiled though Irina felt a small pang of jealousy. She shook it off as Rossweisse had missed Issei.

"What happened! Why did you take your pieces out!" she yelled at him. He sighed, getting tired of explaining. Issei told her everything that happened from the nightmares up to the point he removed the Pieces.

"Where is he anyway? The Welsh Dragon?" she asked curious if Ddraig had woken up yet.

**[Right here, little Valkyrie]** Ddraig said from Issei's left arm. Rossweisse saw the green glow and waved at him.

"So did you hear about the Azazel Cup?" Issei asked. She nodded wanting to know where he was going with this.

"I say we all form a team. I'll have Kiba play the "I need time to grieve" card to guilt trip her into letting him fight on his own team. I'm going to try and convince Seekvaira-san to let Mitsuki and I fight together. Irina is an obvious yes and Gasper said that he would stay to keep an eye on them for us. How about it Rossweisse-san? Wanna join the team?" Issei said with a massive grin on his face. She looked between him and the others, who all smiled similar smiles. Rossweisse smirked.

"I believe that I will graciously accept your offer, Issei," she answered shaking his hand.

"So," Kiba said watching the two shake hands.

"What will our team name be?"

They looked at him. No one thought of that.

"We have team names?" Issei asked.

Kiba nodded.

"Rias-sama said that we have to come up with a team name for our teams. Hers is Team Rias Gremory," Kiba said. The others looked deep in thought. Issei went through several names with Ddraig.

"_Team Oppai Dragon?"_

**[Too obvious. We're trying to remain anonymous.]**

_Team Red Dragon Emperor of Blazing Truth?_

**[Do you not understand the meaning of the word anonymous?]**

The two went back and forth until Kiba spoke up.

"How about Eden Squad?"

Everyone blinked. Kiba shrugged thinking they rejected it.

"Eden Squad. I like it," Issei said.

"The Grove. It's our own personal Eden," he continued. The others nodded in agreement. This glade was really peaceful and ever since Issei showed Irina, Kiba, and Mitsuki, they started coming here more often.

"So we're all in agreement?" Mitsuki asked, "Cause I'm all for it."

"Me too."

"Count me in."

"Yup Yup Yup!"

Rossweisse, Gasper and Irina said respectively.

Issei grinned and put his hand forward. The others came forward and did the same.

"Let it be known that from this day forth. A new team has been formed. We will protect the innocent. We will explore the world to our hearts' content. We will become a team synonymous with the words 'hero' and 'legend'! Let it be remembered that today, Eden Squad was born!"

Everyone roared in agreement at Issei's speech. After that, Irina and Rossweisse summoned some cooking utensils and some raw meat and began to cook some food. The newly christened Eden Squad began their first celebration as a team all the while not knowing that an angel with a red hooded cloak, white hair, and black eyes was watching them. The angel had a small smile on her face.

"I'm glad you found a new group to call family, little dragon," she said. She spread her fourteen silver wings and disappeared. The sound of wingbeats being the only indication that she was ever there.

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA, October 20, 2019, 5:45 PM**

_BOOOOOOOM!_

A large explosion rocked the town. Two blurs escaped from a burning. One was a black and violet streak while the other, a red streak with a gold outline. The two collided in mid air creating massive shockwaves that shook the sleepy town of Sioux Falls. The red streak landed revealing her ten red tinted white wings. It was Risa, the Queen of Raphael's Brave Saints. The other blur landed. A woman walked out. She had pinkish, violet hair and her irises were black with a reddish tint. She wore a pinkish-white leotard with a ribbon at the choker and long white stockings. The woman levitated in front of her surrounded by a shroud made of pure darkness.

"Little Raccoon. You should have kept your nose in the trash instead of other people's business," the woman said mockingly.

She glared at the woman and her tail became stiff like a cat's. Risa narrowed her scarlet eyes as they began to glow. She readied her sword.

They charged at each other again. Risa swung her sword to strike the woman but the shroud always moved to block or deflect the blade. The woman raised her hand and Risa was pushed back by an invisible force. Risa flew through a brick wall and landed inside a restaurant. She readied a light spear and threw it.

Through the dust cloud, a red light spear came towards the woman aimed at her face. She caught it with her hand. Risa looked shocked.

_What! The energy they gave off. It was so similar to a devil's. So why is she not affected by light? _She thought.

"How cute. You want your little glow stick back," the woman twirled the light spear and threw it back. A sonic boom shattered every window on the block as the light spear traveled towards Risa. She swung her katana and sliced the light spear in half. The building behind her collapsed from the strike of the two spears.

A man landed next to the woman. He wore a red armor with a massive violet gem in the middle. An eerie green glow emanated from the man's eyes. He charged her and swung his halberd. It took all her years of combat experience to deflect the halberd creating a massive shockwave that tore the concrete around them. She kicked him away causing him to land several blocks away. Risa had no time to rest as a mass of sharp tendrils came shooting towards her. Risa blocked and dodged the tendrils but was hit several times.

She fell to one knee. Her clothes got damaged by the tendrils showing several long cuts. Blood was pouring from the wounds. Risa found herself being lifted by yet another invisible force. The woman was holding her hand out in a grasping position. The man reappeared next to her seemingly undamaged by her attacks.

"Well, brother, our target may have escaped but it seems that I caught you some dinner," the woman said. She balled her hands into a fist and Risa began to feel intense pain. It felt like the woman was crushing all of her organs. Blood began to seep from her mouth.

Two gunshots rang through the night and hit their marks. The woman dropped Risa and turned. In front of them was a white haired man. He wore a red trench coat and a black shirt. On his back was a massive zweihander. She was shocked when she saw the logo. Blacklight. He began a chant.

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas."_

The two began to scream in pain, clutching their heads.

"_Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica,"_ the man continued the chant.

This time, their forms began to flicker like their very existence was being experiencing some sort of interference.

"_Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te... cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare... Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis…," _the man kept going.

The man's eyes began to flicker green while the woman's flickered black.

"_Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine... quem inferi tremunt... Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos," _he finished.

The two became two pitch black funnels of smoke that shot into the night sky before turning around and plunging into the Earth where disappeared in a shockwave of flames.

Risa stood there watching as she healed her wounds. An exorcism chant. On devils, the chant was fatal. It caused their eyes to bleed and gave them pain so intense, the mind kills the body. But on these beings, they turned to smoke.

"Thank you, sir," she said as she offered her hand.

"No problem lady. You guys were causing a ruckus around town," he shook it firmly.

"Well, I'll be off," Risa said spreading her wings.

"Wait, tell your boss that there are more. The Great Dragon is the one directing the Lord of the Flies. She has sent the First to oversee his operation," he told her cryptically but Risa understood her eyes wide.

_The Great Dragon! Impossible! She's the Guardian of the Earth and all Physical Creation. I need Azrael-sama and the others_, Risa thought. She nodded and flew into the sky. She flapped and left a sonic boom as she shot like a bullet to Kuoh, Japan.

* * *

**Ars Nova, Lilith, Underworld, October 20, 2019, 9:45 PM**

Azazel walked calmly into the Ars Nova and greeted the secretary. In his hand were the files on all the boys as well as their Sacred Gears. He waited at the front and Sirzechs came and led him to a conference room used by the Four Maou. He saw that Michael and Gabriel were there. Surprisingly, Azrael, Penemue, and Baraqiel were there too. She looked at her twin and flipped him the bird.

Azazel responded in kind smirking. She smirked back.

Grayfia turned on the projector and Azazel walked to the front of the room. Ajuka turned off the lights and signalled for him to begin.

"Alright, Rossweisse came back today and found out what happened. She threatened me and I caved and gave her the information," Azazel said. Everyone in the room nodded in understanding. Anyone who isn't Frigg and could keep Odin in line was not to be trifled with.

"She came up with a theory that the girls did something to Issei to make him like this. Remember, these are only the girls that were present at the time. Irina was on a mission for Michael and Rossweisse was in the north. Mitsuki was in Agares Territory and Kiba, from what I could tell, was picking up Issei's contracts. Whether or not it was on Rias's orders, I couldn't tell as of the moment.

Sirzechs, Grayfia. When you went to Hyoudou Manor, did you see anyone new?"

Sirzechs and Grayfia nodded. Rias and the others came home with three men in tow.

"What does this have to do with anything?"

Azazel placed the first file underneath the projector. The projector scanned it and projected a 3-D hologram of the blonde haired boy's face.

"This is Tatsuya Seimei. He is the son of two former onmyouji from Kyoto named Harutora Tsuchimikado and Natsume Seimei. His father died before he was born. The boy has the Sacred Gear, Gravity Prison, or a variant of it," Azazel explained to them.

He put up another file. This time, a boy with black hair appeared.

"This boy is Eren Yahtogami. Son of two former mages named Anna Malfoy and Arima Yatogami. He is the wielder of the Sacred Gear, Fallen Star. A rare sacred gear and it's rumored to be a watered down version of Incinerate Anthem like the Twice Critical is to Boosted Gear."

Azazel put another one up. A boy with red hair and hazel eyes appeared on the hologram.

"Yuu Nakiri. Son of Kuro and Yukiko Nakiri. His background checks out and he is normal. He had the Sacred Gear, Perfect Vision, which allows him to accurately read moves in combat."

Azazel put one final file up. It was that of a boy with grey hair.

"The last one is Hiruko Yukikaze. Son of Jin and Yozora Yukikaze. His parents are completely normal. His Sacred Gear is Embrace of the Ice Princess. Like Fallen Star, it is a watered down version of Absolute Demise and can control ice and snow."

"Why are you telling us this Azazel?" Serafall wanted to know where he was going with this.

Azazel ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to say it. Especially since it would shatter Sirzechs' image of Rias.

Tiredly, he put in one more file. This time, holographic images of all the girls taken at different times with the men. Where he got these, their social media pages. Instagram. Snapchat. You name it. You can bet he's got it.

Suddenly, the feeling of death surrounded the room. All the plants died and everyone began to choke. Michael and Gabriel stood their unaffected as they pumped their aura out seeing Azrael twitching. Azazel looked sadly at his twin. She loved Issei. She was his adoptive older sister when she was his babysitter.

"What?" was all she said when she began to glow. Outside, a storm formed over all of Lilith. Intense downpour began causing everyone to run inside. Lightning struck the streets and wind began to uproot trees. The very foundation of the Underworld began to shake as space and time distorted around the entire city.

Inside the conference room, the Satans had to cover their ears and close their eyes as a horrendous screeching noise began to come from Azrael. Burns were forming all over their arms as they shielded themselves from the light. The window cracked. The overhead light bulbs burst and a shadow of fourteen wings appeared behind her. Her eyes were glowing an intense white.

Seeing the room and Lilith would be wiped off the map if Azrael continued, Gabriel put her hand on her sister's shoulder. At her sister's touch, Azrael calmed down. The screeching and storm died down.

Azrael motioned for her twin to continue. Azazel nodded. Gabriel sent a healing pulse to the Satans and their burns vanished.

"I have to agree with Rossweisse's theory here. The evidence is too much and stacked against their favor. Rias and the female members of the ORC sans Irina and Rossweisse went behind Issei's back and began to see other men," Azazel said. He looked to Sirzechs sadly as he saw the man's soul break inside his eyes.

Sirzechs stared in mute horror at the images. His beloved sister would never do something like that to the man she loves. The man who freed her from the life of a brood sow for Riser Phenex. But the evidence was right there in front of him. He felt sick. His vision blurred.

_What would mother and father think?_, he thought. Sirzechs coughed. Everyone looked at him alarmed. In his hand, was blood. A massive amount of blood.

"_SIRZECHS!_" Grayfia screamed as she ran to her husband.

Azazel looked to Baraqiel. His eyes were hard as he stared at his daughter cheat on the man who repaired their relationship. The man he had so much respect for. The man who helped him avenge his Shuri.

"I'm very disappointed in her. Why would she do this? She has the best possible man for her on the planet!" Baraqiel raved.

"Azazel. I will kill them. I will personally drag them to Hell and shove their souls in Cocytus right next to Samael!" Azrael said, Her pitch black eyes were once again glowing with a white light.

Azrael saw a CC appear in front of her. It was Risa.

"What is it?"

…

"WHAT!?" Everyone was startled. Azrael shot out of her chair.

"Azazel, turn on the TV and tune it to KLDT!" Azazel turned on the TV and tuned it to the news channel for Sioux Falls, SD. His eyes grew wide.

"_Earlier, tonight, massive explosions were heard all over the town as a Sioux Falls family was brutally butchered in their own homes. The suspects were caught on camera. The FBI has put out a wanted notice for these two individuals."_

A picture of a woman with violet hair and black eyes appeared next to a man dressed in red armor.

Michael and Gabriel's eyes grew wide. Those two! He sent those two!

Penemue was shaking in her seat remembering them while Baraqiel had sparks flying off of him.

Azazel narrowed his eyes.

_Shit,_ was the only thought in his head.

The Maou were confused. Who were those two? Did the Angels know them?

"What else did Risa say?" Michael asked. Azrael put a hand up and waited for more information.

…

"No…"

Michael stiffened at Azrael's tone.

"What!?" What is it!?" Gabriel demanded.

"She said that Blacklight figured out who's behind these attacks."

The Maou's eyes grew wide. Blacklight was an organization composed of various beings from gods to humans. Their purpose, protect the world from threats no matter how small. Be it human terrorists or the supernatural beings.

"What did Blacklight say!?" Sirzechs said.

"I don't think you'll understand," Azrael informed him as she listened to Risa's frantic relays.

"Try us," Ajuka said, arms crossed. Falbium and Serafall were glued to their seats, eyes hard.

"She says and I quote, 'The Great Dragon is the one directing the Lord of the Flies. She has sent the First to oversee his operations.'," Azrael told them. Michael and Gabriel stood still frozen. Azazel's jaw dropped. Penemue and Baraqiel's eyes were wide. The Maou were confused. The Great Dragon? The First? The Lord of the Flies obviously referred to Beelzebub but Ajuka was here and the original and Shalba were dead.

Azrael seeing the looks on the Maous' faces sighed. They were now in too deep so they would have to learn the biggest secret of devilkind that not even the first devils knew.

"The Great Dragon refers to our older sister and your Creator, Lucifer, Star of the Morning. The Lucifer you all knew, The Father of Rizevim Livan Lucifer was just a creation of hers that took her name when she first created your kind."

The Maous' jaws dropped as Azrael dropped the mother of all bombs.

"Mother of God," Falbium said ignoring the headache he got from saying the name as he slumped in his chair.

"She has nothing to do with this," Azazel said staring at the TV as the news anchor continued to talk about the situation.

"So Ellie is the one directing this," Michael said. Their older sister was powerful. She was the Angel closest to God. And thus, she had many names.

The Original Archangel.

The Demon God.

The Great Dragon.

Satan.

Lucifer.

The Adversary.

The Serpent.

The Princess of the Power of the Air.

The Morning Star.

Helel, the Lightbringer.

"We have to make plans. Notify the other pantheons. Put them on high alert," Azazel said taking lead.

"Serafall, coordinate with the other pantheon heads to get the first meeting of the Celestial Council started," Serafall nodded and began to send several CC calls to the other leaders.

"Sirzechs, Ajuka, Falbium, we need to flush them out. The games will have to start early. If I know Beelzebub, he won't shy from a public event to announce his presence," he ordered, The three nodded.

"Michael, Gabriel, Azrael, we need to return to full power. Even if it means,...", Gabriel's eyes narrowed at her brother. Surely, he wasn't suggesting such an atrocious thing.

"Taking a vessel," Azazel finally said. The devils in the room and the other angels looked at Azazel shocked. Never did they think that he would suggest such a thing. Possession was highly frowned upon by the older angels. The act of entering another body and forcibly taking it. It was barbaric. There was a great chance the body couldn't handle the strain and would spontaneously combust.

"NO! That is not the way!" Gabriel yelled at him.

"I will not take a vessel, knowing that they will combust the minute we enter!" she screamed at him. Azazel sighed. He knew she was right. Suddenly, Azrael put a vial with swirling white and blue energy in his hands. She handed five to Michael and Gabriel. It was Grace. Azrael's grace.

Grace was the integral energy of the Angels. It fueled their forms of magic and their powers of light. Grace in and of itself was holy. It was what granted the Angels their holy aura. The complete antithesis of Taint. The energy of Devils. The energy that fueled their powers and magic. The very energy that made them unholy.

"These will help you recover faster. Don't worry about me. I still have lots of power. I'll restore it all in a few weeks," she reassured them. Risa had cut the link after listening in on their conversation.

"You all know what to do!" Azazel said. Everyone nodded and left to do their respective assignments. Azazel looked out the window and teleported back to the Grigori.

One thought was on his mind.

_What the hell are you doing, Luci?_

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, October 21, 2019, 11:45 AM; Clock: 7 Minutes to Midnight**

Issei sat in his desk when he saw Irina walking to him. Xenovia and Asia weren't here thank God. He wasn't ready to confront them yet. Irina smiled at him as she pulled out a bag and took out two bento boxes.

"Itadakimasu!"

They began to eat and were joined by Kiba and Mitsuki. Motohama and Matsuda had come earlier congratulating Issei on getting better but left in a rage when they saw Irina leaning on Issei's shoulder.

"Issei, I need you and your friends to come with me to my office," Ashley came over and said.

Confused, the four got up and followed her. They were even more confused when they saw Rossweisse and Gasper waiting for them in the hall.

The entire walk to Ashley's office was long and nerve-wracking. As they entered the room, she motioned for them to sit which they did. They immediately went on guard when Ashley waved her hand and the door locked and several runes appeared in the room.

"Calm down, they're just cloaking, silencing, and locking enchantments," Ashley said.

"Why did you call us here?" Kiba asked readying his Sacred Gear. The others were itching as well. Rossweisse had a magic circle on standby, Irina was going to summon Hauteclaire, and Issei and Mitsuki had glows in their hands signifying their intent to summon Boosted Gear and Telos Karma.

Ashley raised an eyebrow and snapped her fingers. The six suddenly felt powerless.

"I took away your ability to use magic and access your Sacred Gears," she said. The group looked shocked. This being in front of them was powerful. Unimaginably so.

"Az-nee, what are you?"

She smiled at the question. Issei instantly felt safe and relaxed. The others seeing this did so as well.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself," seven pairs of silver wings shot from her back as she curtsied in front of them. Their eyes grew wide. She was an Angel. A powerful one from the looks of it.

"My name is Azrael, the Archangel of Death. You know me as Ashley Amaranth. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

* * *

**Wow, so much crap just happened. New thing. Let me know which DxD character you want to join the newly formed Eden Squad. I won't do a poll for this because I want to hear your reasons for choosing them. You guys get four picks each. Remember, make it a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**

***Repost***

**Okay before you all say "Why didn't Rias tell Issei she wanted a break from their relationship to see if they clicked with other people?" I ask you to please wait. All shall be revealed. Oh and I explained what Grace was if you couldn't tell from the way that the angels used it. The name comes from Supernatural. But unlike in Supernatural, the Grace in this fic is just an energy source like Mana and Prana. Or Chakra and Ki. Also I removed the part where Baraqiel disowned Akeno as I felt that was too extreme for what she was doing. **


	7. Lily Hofferson

**Pyre: Before we begin, I need to make three things clear. First, please stop PMing me with suggestions for girls to add to the pairing. Issei's harem will be limited to four girls. You've already seen Irina and Rossweisse. The other two will appear later with the third one appearing in this chapter and the fourth one appearing halfway through this first arc. Second, congratulations to Thor, Artemis, Verethranga, Kali, and Set. You are currently the five gods who will debut in the Azazel Cup unless someone votes on another god. Third, next chapter I will stop taking suggestions for people in Eden Squad. Please do not any member of Vali Team as I want to keep it canon. Don't worry Vali Team will work very closely with Eden Squad like the Fantastic Four and the X-men. Also, the Eden Squad member suggestion is not an opportunity for suggesting harem members. Also, someone asked me if the ORC girls are being bashed. My answer is no. This is not a bashing fic. The girls made a mistake and they will pay for it more until I decide they have had enough. Don't forget to vote.~ Remember any suggestion you have must have a good reason behind it that does not involve the words harem. Okay kid, start with the chapter.**

**Risa: Alright. CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

**[Ddraig thinking]**

**{Albion talking}**

**{Albion thinking}**

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Edinburgh****, Scotland, UK, October 20, 2019, 7:45 PM; Current Time: 7 minutes til Midnight**

A young girl ran through the streets clutching a loaf of bread. Her clothes were tattered and her face was hollow. She had lost several pounds and her once bright red hair had become a dull rust color. Her blue eyes lost their shine. It had been like this since that man and woman killed her entire family.

_Mum. Big Brother,_ she thought while running.

She weaved around passerby's on the street knocking over a few people.

"Stop that kid!" A voice rang out.

She turned the corner into an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. The man ran past the alleyway still in pursuit. The girl sighed in relief. This was the seventh city she had been to. The girl began to munch on the bread she had stolen when she heard someone coming.

"There you are you brat!" the shop owner said as he approached the girl.

She shrank back and began to shake. As the man reached out to grab her, the girl threw her palm towards the man and the man was sent flying into the street. Onlookers stood there in shock. The shop owner groaned and stared at the little girl and the sight made him piss himself. Her eyes were pitch black and her blue eyes were glowing. She was surrounded by a black mist and disappeared.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy College Division, October 21, 2019, 11:55 AM**

Sona sighed as she moved her knight into place. Rias was off her game. Something had been bothering her for the past two days. Everyone was worried.

"Checkmate."

Rias stayed silent, opting to stare at the board instead.

"Okay, what's going on with you?"

Rias looked up at Sona.

"I think I messed up Sona."

"What gave it away? The fact that you completely messed up your last couple of moves or the fact that I beat you in less than five minutes?"

"No, not that. With Issei."

Sona looked confused.

"What about Issei?"

"I did something. Something bad," Rias said shame written all over her face.

"You'll have to be more specific. I'm a Devil not a psychic," Sona took a sip of her cup of tea.

"Remember when you gave me that advice about taking a break and partner compatibility."

Sona nodded not liking where this was going.

"Well, I did it," Rias said. Sona was confused. Why was that so bad? Did Issei take it badly?

"I'm assuming he took it badly when you told him?"

"That's the problem. I never really told him."

Sona spit her tea all over the entire chessboard. She stared at Rias with her mouth open, glasses nearly falling off. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"_YOU DIDN'T DO WHAT!?_" Sona was practically screaming at Rias. Rias flinched at her tone.

"Rias. Of all the stupid things you have done over time, this is by far the worst. Why the hell didn't you tell him!?" Sona demanded.

"I..I don't know," Rias said in defeat.

"Were you afraid of his reaction?"

Rias nodded.

Sona sighed a heavy sigh. Rias was a genius in nearly all things. But relationships, they were in the same boat on that one as this was both their first. Sona, however, knew that it was common sense that if you wanted to take a break from a relationship. Notify your damn partner.

"Rias", she started trying to find a way to word it.

"Issei… he would have understood your intentions if you just explained it to him before you did all… this," she said gesturing to her.

Rias kept looking down in shame.

"Did he find out?"

"I'm assuming he did based on what we found."

"What did you find?" Sona was now curious. How did the Sekiryuutei take it?

"He removed his pieces and disappeared."

Sona just looked at her. Removed his pieces? Issei? This was bad. But something bothered her. Issei disappeared? Impossible.

"What do you mean he disappeared? I just saw Saji talking to him earlier today about training", Sona informed her.

Rias's eyes grew wide. Maybe there was a chance to fix this. She needed to mitigate the fallout. She needed to clear up this whole mess. But first, she needed to break things off with Tatsuya. This entire sordid affair was the reason she was in this. She hadn't meant for it to go so far.

"Sona! Please! Help me fix this! I beg of you! I need to tell him that I was only doing this to see if we were truly meant for each other!" Rias was on her hands and knees begging for her help.

Sona looked on sadly at her prostrated friend. The once proud Rias Gremory reduced to begging.

"I'll help."

Rias looked up at her. Tears in her eyes. She crushed her in a hug.

"Oh, Sona! Thank you so much! I owe you more than you'll ever know!" Rias said as she tightened the hug.

Meanwhile, poor Sona Sitri was struggling to escape the fleshy prison that was Rias Gremory's breasts.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy High School Division, October 21, 2019, 11:56 PM**

The entire group stood there in shock. Irina bowed to her in reverence. This was the legendary Angel of Death. She was a legend among female angels in Heaven. The Femme Fatale Trinity of Heaven consisted of her, Lady Gabriel, and some angel named Ellie. The others seeing Irina bow quickly followed suit.

Azrael sighed. This always happened. Is this how her Father felt all the time with the angels? She retracted her wings.

"Please don't bow. It makes me extremely uncomfortable," Azrael said.

"It is a great honor to meet you Azrael-sama," Irina said. There were stars in her eyes. Her idol stood in front of her. Beautiful and deadly.

"Ummm, please just call me Az-nee. I did babysit you from time to time with Issei and Mitsuki," Azrael said to her inching away.

"Of course," she said. Azrael turned to Issei and began cooing and pinching his cheeks.

"I remember when you wanted to be a biologist. Now, you're doing so well in your science classes. You wanted to be just like your onee-chan," she teased. Everyone started to laugh at Issei's misfortune.

"Ummm.. uhh" Issei sputtered.

"Awww, you didn't deny it," Azrael said, still pinching his cheeks.

"Az-nee," Azrael turned to Mitsuki.

"Why now?" Mitsuki wondered why she never revealed herself. Hell, she wondered why no one noticed.

Azrael sighed. She would be doing that a lot today.

"Something happened pertaining a certain someone and I need to take him to get checked out. Also, a series of events have forced me to reveal myself earlier than I intended to," she said looking pointedly at Issei.

"All of you, you may return to class. I need to take Issei to get his check up. This is a private matter," Azrael shot them a look that left no room for protest. They quickly filed out and returned to their classroom. As soon as the room was empty, Azrael grabbed Issei by the shoulder and the two disappeared, the sound of wings filling the room.

* * *

**Grigori Headquarters, Azazel's Lab, October 21, 2019, 12:15 PM**

Azrael and Issei arrived in Azazel's lab. Issei blinked and found himself in Azazel's lab.

"Woah woah woah. Why are we here?" he asked.

"You need to be checked for abnormalities. I figured that my twin could keep a secret. Especially one pertaining to you," she replied and went to sit. She lifted her hand and a bottle of whiskey flew into it. She poured herself a glass and drank it. Azazel burst in to his room sensing his twin.

"Okay Azrael, what the hell are you doing here…" the words died in Azazel's mouth. He just stared at him. His hand reached forward shaking.

"Hey sensei…" Issei said weakly. He was crushed in a bear hug. He felt his uniform get wet. Azazel was crying.

"Sensei, I'm fine. Really."

"_Ddraig, help!"_

**[You're on your own with this one. Though I have to admit, he would be a big help in figuring out your new powers.]**, Ddraig told him.

"Sensei, I'm okay see", Issei kept going while squirming in Azazel's grip.

Issei looked to his sobbing sensei. Gross. Snot was coming out of Azazel's nose. After ten painful minutes, Azazel finally let go.

"Issei, I just want to say that I'm so sorry for ignoring your calls," Azazel said to him.

"Oh? It's okay sensei. I knew you were busy," Issei said rubbing the back of his head.

"No, I should have made some time to check on you. Also, I'm sorry about the girls Issei. I know how much you loved them," Azazel said.

Issei grew stiff. He had mixed feelings about them. He was mad at them for going behind his back and dating other men but he didn't hate them. Issei was more sad and angry.

"Will you go back to Rias and the others?" Azazel asked him.

Irina had asked a similar question. Issei shook his head.

"No. I thought about it more and more after I removed my pieces. I don't hate them. I don't feel anything. Part of me will always love them, yeah, but I can't trust them anymore," Issei replied with a heavy voice.

"They broke my heart sensei. Raynare broke my heart by stabbing me in the lungs. Rias saved me and gave me new life. She and the other girls gave me love. But then, they just… I don't know why they did what they did but it hurt sensei. It hurt really bad. I'll forgive them but not today. Eventually. Just give me time."

Azazel nodded sadly and changed the mood.

"Az tells me that you need a check up," Azazel said smiling. He led Issei to his lab. Azazel asked Issei to remove his shirt and get on the table. Complying, Issei took off his shirt and got on the table.

"Okay, Issei, I need you to stay still. Az, pin him," Azazel said to her. Issei felt himself being pinned to the lab table. He couldn't move. He saw Azrael looking at him. His face paled and he began to sweat profusely. Azazel had just carted in a cart full of tools.

"Ummm, are you sure this is necessary?" Issei asked.

"Oh my foolish student. It's for science." was all he heard before he saw Azazel grab a tool and begin his work.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, 12:40 PM**

Rossweisse was in the front giving a lecture. Irina sat next in her normal seat next to Xenovia. She looked horrible. Her eyes were red from crying. That Yuu boy kept sending her concerned glances. Despite cheating on her boyfriend, she felt bad for Xenovia. Irina was just like that at heart. She couldn't ignore a person in pain.

"Psst, Xenovia, are you okay?"

Xenovia looked at her.

"Can we talk after class?" she asked, no begged.

She nodded at her. Irina turned and saw Asia. Asia looked horrible as well. While Irina was satisfied that they felt the way they did, she didn't like it anymore than anyone else did. Irina began to rub her temples. She felt as if whatever Xenovia had to say would give her a headache. Class went on with Rossweisse talking about commas or something. She occasionally got called on along with Kiba and Mitsuki. Three hours passed and class eventually came to an end. Irina and Kiba bid goodbye to Mitsuki since she said something about going to visit someone.

Irina and Kiba walked next to Xenovia and Asia as they made their way to the building. They were joined by Koneko and Ravel a short while into the walk. No one said anything the duration of the trip. They entered the building and ascended to the second floor. No one was here yet. The boys had other club priorities before this.

"So, Xenovia? What did you want to talk about?" Irina asked as she sat on the couch. She picked up a bottle of water sitting on the table and took a sip.

"I want to talk about Issei."

Kiba looked at Xenovia then glanced to Ravel and Asia. Koneko was silent. Irina raised an eyebrow.

"What about Issei?"

"We need to-" A CC manifested next to Xenovia. She looked at Irina who only nodded.

"Rias", she said.

"Are you guys at the ORC?" Rias said through the CC.

"Yeah, why?"

"Okay I'm headed there."

"What about Akeno?"

"Akeno's here too."

"Okay, we'll wait here."

"Soooo, I guess we'll wait," Irina said. She relaxed onto the couch. She knew this conversation would happen eventually. She just didn't expect it to happen so soon. They waited ten minutes and the sound of the door opening was heard. Rias and Akeno walked up the stairs into the room.

"Okay, almost everyone is here now," Rias said. As she said this, Rossweisse walked in. She looked at Rias and Akeno with a look of disappointment. Her previous anger from the night before was still there.

"Okay now that we're all here, we need to discuss some things…" Rias said as she turned to Rossweisse and Irina.

"Rossweisse. Irina. Please. We need your help finding Issei", Rias asked bowing before them. Rossweisse and Irina's eyes widened. Rias was bowing before them. The rest of the girls got up and followed Rias's example.

They looked at each other and then Kiba. He shrugged.

"We'll keep an eye out," Rossweisse said.

"But, we won't actively join your little search party. We're still mad at you. What you all did? I mean if you told him, then yeah, that would have been alright because at least, you wouldn't have been dating each other. But that's the problem. You never went up and said, 'Hey Issei. I feel that we need to take a break and see other people. You know, to see if we're really meant to be. After all, we will be stuck together for the rest of time.' You know, something along those lines," Irina chastised them. Unlike Rossweisse, Irina's fury was colder. Similar to disappointing your favorite parent.

"Thank you! That's all we ask!" Rias said bowing again. This was the best the girls could get from them in terms of help.

"Now what do you want to talk about, Rias-sama?" Kiba asked her.

"The Games. Sign ups are in three weeks. My brother just messaged me over CC that they're moving the date up. The Azazel Cup will take place on January 21, 2020," Rias informed them.

"Thus, we must up the training regimen of the boys. Irina. I need you to help Kiba and Koneko get them into shape. Also, please help Xenovia. Yuu wants to learn to wield a sword. Rossweisse. I need you to help Akeno and Asia teach them some magic. I need them to have an array of spells under their belt for the games", Rias said to them her tone serious.

Rossweisse looked at her and before she could speak, Irina spoke up.

"You want us to help them?"

Rias cringed at her tone.

"Just enough to help them survive. I know you don't like them but please understand. We dragged them into this. They don't deserve your anger," she said. The two nodded knowing she was right. The boys did get dragged into this by the girls into a situation that didn't involve them but did now.

"I assume that you will be breaking things off," Irina asked.

"Yes, but I want to wait until after the Games. I want to do it with Issei there. I'm sure he'll be there. The chance to fight powerful opponents and all that," Rias said.

Suddenly, the door opened and the sounds of four men could be heard ascending up the stairs.

"Do not breathe a word of this conversation," Rias said to all of them releasing some power causing her eyes to flicker red.

"Hey everyone," Tatsuya said. He was ready for whatever training they had today. Yuu, Eren, and Hiruko were also ready. Ready to prove their worth in front of the Moonlit World.

"Tatsuya, Eren, Yuu, Hiruko. Meet your new teachers, Irina Shidou, and Rossweisse. Rossweisse is my Rook and Irina is the Angel Representative in Kuoh," Rias said gesturing to them.

The four looked at the two women. They were beautiful.

"You're a real angel huh?" Hiruko asked in a flirty manner. Koneko and Ravel frowned.

Irina looked at him with a dismissive glance and sighed. She spread all ten of her wings.

"Yes. According to Heaven's Ranking System, I am an A-Class Cherub. In the Global System, I am an SSS Rank bordering on EX-Rank High Class Angel," Irina said pride evident in her voice. The entire room was shocked. When did she get so strong?

Unknown to them, Irina had been training with Raphael in her spare time. That, plus all the S-rank missions she took with Griselda and Dulio. It was her goal after all to stand next to Issei as an equal.

"Ummm, well you four. Treat her with respect," Akeno said coming out of her shock.

"Alright everyone, let's head over to the training field," Rias said.

"Actually, Rias-sama, I need to go pick up some groceries. It appears that we are out of leeks, eggs, and fish for the feast we have planned tonight," Akeno said.

"Alright, Akeno, we'll meet you back at the manor."

A massive magic circle appeared and teleported them all to the Hyoudou House. Akeno walked out of the ORC and to the nearest Izumi Supermarket.

* * *

**Grigori Headquarters, 4:15 PM**

Issei got off the table and put his shirt back on. The angel twins looked at a vial of Issei's blood, a vial of churning black mist, and the energy reading they got. He heard them discussing something about having Miasma in his blood, whatever that was. Issei walked over to the couch and sat down. He began to drink out of a Coke Can that was on Azazel's mini fridge next to the couch.

"Issei. Are you participating in the Azazel Cup?" Azazel asked as he sat next to Issei on the couch. He snapped his fingers and the Switch and TV turned on. Azazel picked up his controller and began to set up a match. He picked Dark Pit.

"Yup. Oh yeah, by the way, why did they name it the Azazel Cup anyway?" Issei said as he selected Chrom.

Azazel hit random and the map began to load.

"I won a rock paper scissors game. It was used to decide the name. The last two people were me and Amaterasu. She wanted to call it 'The Tournament of Power'", Azazel said as he tried to knock Issei off the platform.

"That name sounds badass," Issei said.

**[I agree with my partner. Azazel the name you picked was just...bleh]**, Ddraig said finally waking up from his nap.

"C'mon guys really? It's not that bad, right?" The two deadpanned at him.

"It is that bad brother," Azrael said from the recliner. She poured herself a glass.

"No one recognizes true genius anymore," Azazel said depressed. The three other occupants of the room sweatdropped. This manchild was the strongest Fallen.

A knock was heard on the door.

"Father, are you there?" a girl's voice could be heard. Issei groaned both at being knocked off and the girl's voice. Ambriel. Azazel and Penemue's daughter. The other girl in his life who proclaimed herself his big sister.

The door opened and a girl in her late teens with raven black hair reaching down to her waist styled in a hime cut. Her eyes were violet-blue. They lit up when they saw Issei.

"Ii-chan! You're here!" Ambriel hugged Issei shoving him into her bountiful chest.

"Ambriel, can't breathe!" while normally Issei would rejoice in having his face shoved into breasts, when it came to his sisters, it was just downright weird and annoying. Not to mention deadly. Azazel and Azrael were suppressing their laughter.

"What do you need kid?" Azazel said. Ambriel dropped Issei and turned to her father.

"Vali wants to see you," she said.

"Well, that's our cue to leave. Az-nee, let's go," Issei said. He didn't want to see Vali yet. Not until the tournament.

"It is getting rather late," Azrael said.

"Well, brother, I'll be back for those test results tomorrow," she said. Azrael put her hand on Issei's shoulder and disappeared with the sound of wings flapping.

"So, Ii-chan will fight Va-chan at the tournament huh? I guess I better get ready. I need to fight too you know," Ambriel said leaving. She opened the door and passed Vali on the way out.

"Hey, Old Man," Vali said to Azazel.

"Hey Vali," Azazel said.

"Albion said Ddraig was here," he said.

"Yeah, and?"

"You're not gonna tell the others?"

"Nah. Maybe Michael since he needs to know what I just found."

Vali raised an eyebrow. What did Azazel find that needed to be kept secret?

"Vali, do you know what the integral energy of Angels and Devils are?" Azazel asked him.

Vali rolled his eyes. Did he expect him to answer such a grade school question?

**{Humor him. I want to see where he's going with this.}**, Albion said in Vali's head.

"Angels wield Grace. It fuels their magic. Their light. It's what makes them Holy. Fallen Angels have Grace as well," Vali said. Azazel motioned for him to keep going.

"Devils wield Taint. It fuels our magic. Our various family abilities such as the Bael's Power of Destruction and the Lucifer's Power of Darkness. Why are you asking me this?" Vali wanted to know why Azazel asked him.

Azazel pulled a vial of swirling black smoke from his pocket. The smoke swirled violently and arcs of green lightning flashed every now and then.

Vali froze at the sight of the vial. It made every hair on his body stand on end. Divine Dividing appeared on Vali's back.

**{FORMER GOVERNOR GENERAL! WHERE DID YOU GET THAT VILE ENERGY FROM!}**, Albion yelled the gear shining an intense blue.

"What Albion? What is it?" Vali asked. Albion was never like this normally.

**{That Vali is Miasma. A vile dark energy created by that Angel who is referred to as The Great Dragon.}** Albion growled. He remembered that vile energy. It came off the very beings who killed his brood mother.

"You're correct Albion. Vali, what I am about to tell you must never leave this room," Azazel spoke to him in a no nonsense manner.

Vali nodded wanting for him to get to the point.

"Miasma is the integral energy generated by Demons. It fuels their magic and powers.," he said.

"Aren't demons and devils the same?" Vali asked.

**{No…}**, Albion said. He remembered those vile beings. They were and still regarded by the Dragons and the Elder Gods as the antithesis of the Angels.

**{Demons are old. Ancient. As old as the planet itself. Devils came with Humanity. Demons are as nearly as old as the Elder Gods. You now call them Progenitor Deities. Chaos. Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Ymir. Ra.}**, Albion explained.

"Right. Taint is just an offshoot of Miasma. Taint came forth when The Great Dragon created Devilkind from Miasma. Miasma was created straight from her own Grace which she used to form the First Demon," Azazel explained to him.

**{Where did you find this Governor General?}**, Albion asked him. Whoever wielded such a vile power needed to be found.

"Issei."

Vali and Albion were shocked. Issei. Him. He wielded the power of Demons.

"How…" Vali couldn't bring himself to say more.

"It was in his blood," Azazel said.

"How did it get there?"

"I don't know. That's what I want to find out. That, and if there are others out there with this power," Azazel said as he stared at the vial filled with the dark power.

_Just how did you get this in you Issei,_ Azazel thought.

* * *

**Kuoh Town, 7:45 PM**

Akeno left the supermarket carrying two bags. She began the ten minute walk back to Hyoudou Manor. She was humming to herself when all the hairs on her neck stood up. She froze and turned only to see a funnel of black smoke flying towards her.

Akeno fired a spell to dispel the smoke but it weaved around the spell. The smoke slammed into Akeno knocking her onto the ground. The funnel snaked into the sky before coming down towards her.

Akeno groaned as she felt like she was hit with a truck. She looked to see the smoke inches from her. Akeno screamed but no sound came out as the smoke entered her mouth.

After the funnel finished entering her mouth, her eyes and mouth closed. She lay on the ground spasming for a few seconds before her eyes snapped open rapidly flickering between toxic sulfuric gold and violet. Her eyes glowed an eerie gold for a few seconds before settling on violet.

Akeno got up and clutched her head. What just happened? Why was she on the ground? She saw her grocery bags and grabbed them checking to see if the contents were ruined. She sighed in relief when she saw that they were fine.

Deciding that a walk was too long and everyone might be hungry, Akeno decided to teleport back to the house.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy Gates, 7:46 PM**

Azrael and Issei appeared in front of the gates of Kuoh Academy. Azrael told Issei to get some rest and to train for the tournament. She bid him a good night and teleported back to her apartment.

Issei decided to go get something to eat and began to make his way to the nearest McDonalds. He began to walk and look at the sky. It was a beautiful night. Full Moon. Clear Skies. Nice Breeze.

Issei paused when he heard noises coming from an alley. Now, you know every murder situation where the person gets killed walking into an alley, well, Issei decided to check out what ever was making it.

What he saw broke his heart.

A little girl. Her clothes were ruined and had rips all over them. Her hair was disheveled and was a dull rust color. He imagined her hair must have been a vibrant red before she found herself in this situation. She was currently digging through a dumpster most likely looking for food.

"Hello" his voice caused the little girl to jump and stare at him. Her blue eyes were wide with fear. She began to shake and in a broken voice said,

"Please don't hurt me."

Issei fumed in anger. Who would dare hurt such a young child?

**[What will you do partner?]**, Ddraig also felt angry. No child should have to go through this.

"_First, I'm going to get this girl some food. A new set of clothes. Then, I'm taking her home. I don't care if they see me, this kid needs somewhere to stay and someone to look after her until we find her family,"_ Issei replied. He looked at her. Poor thing was scared.

"Hey," Issei said softly. The girl flinched causing Issei to frown. What happened to her?

"Don't worry I won't hurt you. I just want to help."

A grown was heard. The girl turned red as her stomach growled. Issei smiled.

"C'mon. You want to go get some food?" Issei asked stretching out his hand for her.

The girl tilted her head cutely at Issei. Issei looked. She must not speak Japanese. He switched to English and relayed the question again. This time the girl understood what he said.

The girl looked between him and his hand. She knew she shouldn't take the offer but she was hungry. She also felt close to him for some reason. The little girl nodded and took his hand.

"Oh, by the way, I don't want to keep calling you little girl so what's your name," Issei asked in english.

The girl looked at him for a while before finally saying her name.

"Lily. Lily Hofferson, Mr…"

"Oh. Right. My name is Issei Hyoudou. Nice to meet you, Lily-chan," Issei said with a smile.

Lily was confused again. Chan?

Seeing her confusion, Issei explained it to her.

"Chan is a term of affection for young children and girls."

"Oh. I like it."

Issei carried her on his back to the McDonalds. He set her down on a chair and went to order.

"Hi, I'll have one McChicken with a Large Fries and a medium Pepsi. The little girl will have a Kid's Meal and two ten piece chicken nuggets. Oh and a small Pepsi."

"All right sir, that'll be 990 yen sir," the cashier said as she punched in his order. She looked to the little girl.

"Um sir."

Issei looked at her.

"Is that little girl okay? Where did you find her? If you don't mind me asking?"

Issei looked down and started to shake.

"I found her dumpster diving for food. She looks like she hasn't eaten anything in days. Maybe she was abandoned."

"That's horrible. Well, at least she has someone like you now to look after her," the clerk said. During their conversation, the order had arrived. Issei grabbed their orders and bid the clerk a good evening. He went to the soda machine and filled up their drinks then made his way over to Lily.

"Is it really okay for me to eat all this mister?" Lily asked him. Issei felt his heart ache. She must have gone through so much. Issei nodded at her smiling. Lily took a bite out of her food. Her eyes lit up in happiness. She began to devour nugget after nugget until she choked. She tapped the table and Issei passed her drink to her in mild amusement. She grabbed it and began to drink Pepsi.

"It's good right," Issei asked. She looked up crumbs present around her mouth. Lily nodded and gave him a brilliant smile. Issei smiled back. Who could do this to such a sweet little girl?

"H- Hey, Lily?" She looked at him curiously.

"How did you end up on the streets? Where are your parents?" Issei asked. Her face fell. Tears began to fall from her eyes. She looked at him.

"Mummy… Mummy is dead," she said to him. Issei's eyes went wide. Her mother was dead? How did she end up here then? Were they on vacation in Japan? Did she have other family?

"What about any other family? Do you have any siblings Lily?"

She shook her head.

"Big brother is dead too. A scary lady made him explode." Issei's eyes narrowed. Her family was murdered most likely in front of her.

"How did you get here?"

"I don't know. I wanted to not be there anymore after the scary lady killed Mum and big brother and I wasn't in a house anymore. I was in a place called Edi-Edeburger?" Lily said trying to pronounce the city's name.

"Edinburgh?"

"Yeah that. I ran around trying to go home. I just wanted to go home. Then, I was hungry. I stole food even though Mummy said that that wasn't what good girls did. But I was so hungry. A mean man ran after me to get the bread but I didn't want to be hit. Then, I came here and you found me," Lily told him while eating more chicken nuggets. She ran out and looked to Issei. He slid over his fries and began to eat his sandwich.

"Hey, Lily. I'm going to take you to a friend of mine but the way we'll get there. I don't want you to be scared," Issei said to her. He was going to take her to Azrael's apartment.

"Why? Will it hurt?" Lily asked him. He wanted to hug the life out of this girl. She was just so adorable.

"Nope, it will be magical", Issei said poking her forehead. Lily's hands went up to her forehead and she smiled. The last person who did that was her older brother. Lily finished her food. Issei had finished his sandwich before her. She climbed on his back and they walked out of the fast food joint.

"Now, Lily, I'm going to use magic. Please don't freak out okay."

"Okay", she murmured. Lily yawned cutely.

_She must be sleepy_, Issei thought.

**[Issei. I don't care what everyone else says. You might be the biggest pervert I have ever met outside of the Gods but you would make one hell of a father.]**, Ddraig said in his head.

"_Thanks Ddraig,"_ Issei replied completely ignoring the pervert comment. He formed a magic circle. Lily's eyes grew wide. Magic. Real Magic. In a flash of light, the duo disappeared.

* * *

**Azrael's Appartment, 9:30 PM**

A red flash of light appeared and Issei and Lily found themselves on Azrael's doorstep. Issei had been here quite a few times when he was younger. He used to come here when his parents would yell at him for not being as good as Mitsuki. He smiled at the memories here. Azrael would let him sleep here and sing him a lullaby. Issei snapped out of his memories and knocked.

A woman he didn't recognize opened the door. She had brown hair and pinkish red eyes. She was wearing a white hoodie and a red skirt.

"Hello, you are?"

"Oh, I'm-" Issei prepared to introduce himself to this breathtakingly beautiful woman in front of him.

"Risa, let him in," Azrael's voice called out from inside.

"H-Hai Azrael-sama," Risa said as she let Issei and Lily in. His eyes scanned the room. There was a large bulletin board in front of Azrael's couch. Maps and pictures of various people were seen among them. He saw Lily's picture on the board.

"Az-nee, what's going on?" Issei asked Azrael who was sitting on a chair sipping coffee.

Azrael turned and saw the girl on Issei's back. She looked to Risa, who also looked shocked.

From Risa's description and the missing persons report, the girl in front of them was Lily Hofferson. People called her Victim Zero because she was the first victim of the string of killings across the globe involving the families being brutally murdered, the house being burned down, and one of the children missing. This girl looked horrible. She was in terrible shape but she was starting to recover. Issei must have gotten her some food.

"Risa, some of Mitsuki's old clothes is in the guest room you're sleeping in. Go take the girl and come back here with her," Azrael said. Risa nodded and looked to the little girl with a warm smile. Lily, who had gotten off of Issei's back, hid behind Issei's leg. Risa decided to let her features out as Azrael would have told them anyway.

Lily watched as two fluffy dog like ears and a bushy tail appeared on the woman in front of her. She reached out and touched the tail. It was soft. Softer than anything she had ever felt. Lily began to stroke the fur. Risa smiled at her. She picked Lily up and Lily began to play with her ears. The two walked off to the guest room Mitsuki used when staying here.

"Issei, we need to talk," Azrael said.

He nodded and went to sit on the couch. Azrael took a seat on the chair on the left side of the coffee table.

"I'm sure you want to know what is going on," Azrael said to Issei as he nodded.

"What I'm about to tell you is a secret that has been kept by Heaven, and the various Elder Gods of the Pantheons across the world. But first, we need to talk about you and the girl."

Issei looked confused.

"What do you mean Az-nee? What about me and Lily?" Issei asked. Ddraig already knew what she was going to say and said it for her.

**[It's about the energy inside Issei's blood and the one inside that girl's too right?]**

"Yes. I'm surprised you didn't recognize it Issei," Azrael said.

"That girl. She has the same power as me?"

**[No, not exactly the same. The feeling is the same but the girl's signature is slightly different from yours. Yours feels like a roaring flame. Hers feels like a blizzard.]**

"Really? The signature varies from individual to individual," Azrael mused. This was new. In the past, people who had Miasma injected into them always morphed into horrid beasts but the feeling they gave off was the same. What made this time different?

"By the way, what is that energy? Ddraig says he's familiar with it but can't remember the name," Issei asked.

"That energy running through your veins and in that girl's is called Miasma. It is the proto version of Taint. Miasma is the energy given off and wielded by Demons," Azrael explained.

"Why do we have it then?"

**[Yes, I too would like to know how it ended up in my Partner's blood.]**

"Currently, we have no information as to how it ended up in yours or that girl's. All we know is that there have been other children that have been taken for what we assume is the same reason," Azrael told them.

"We do however have an inkling of who is behind this entire killing and grabbing spree," Azrael continued.

This caught Issei and Ddraig's attention.

"Who?"

* * *

**Mt. Everest, October 21, 2019, 8:25 PM**

The minute Serafall Leviathan called for an immediate emergency meeting, it was met with wide panic. The first meeting wasn't set until a week before the Games. This entire situation was very odd. So the Gods came to the meeting. The meeting hall was at the very top of the tallest peak of Everest where the building was floating in the sky. Various Forge Gods and expert magicians had used the best cloaking spells to seal it from the view of humans. It was large much like a gigantic lecture hall with a podium at the front for the speaker to speak from and a large hologram projector to show information.

The Celestial Council was made of all the world's pantheons brought together with the advent of the Beast. Each pantheon was allowed two representatives and even Ophis herself had a seat on the council to represent the dragons.

Currently, the Gods were impatient as to why Serafall called this meeting. Shiva and Parvati were in their chairs sleeping, Odin and Tyr were reading swimsuit magazines and weapon magazines. A woman with black hair and grey eyes were deep into a book. She was Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom. Next to her, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes was on his phone. He was Hermes, Greek Messenger God. Over on the other end, Amaterasu and Susanoo sat there staring while Kuroka was beginning to doze off. Yes, the Gods were bored of waiting for Serafall to get here.

"Okay, where the hell is she!", Lugh said.

"Sorry I'm late, Michael and Gabriel wanted me to bring extra guests to the meeting," Serafall said walking through the door and up to the podium. Behind her Michael and Gabriel walked in and sat in their seats. What shocked the Gods were the people who followed.

First, a man with pitch black hair and violet eyes that twinkled like the night sky. He was 6' 3 and wore a dark cloak that glittered. He was Chaos, Progenitor God of the Greek Pantheon and Father of the Protogenoi.

Next, a woman with long silky raven black hair. She had piercing red eyes and wore a dark purple kimono with a white and purple obi with gold embroidery. She was Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Shinto Primal Deity of Darkness and the Void, and the August Star of Heaven.

After that, another God walked in, He was present at the meeting. An old man wearing ornate pharaoh clothing. He was Atum, Egyptian God of Creation.

Last but not least, a man with green hair and yellow eyes wearing black robes walked in. He was Abzu, the Creator Deity of Sumerian Faith.

Amaterasu and Susanoo quickly got up and bowed.

"Lady Mikaboshi! We did not realize that you would be here at this meeting. Please forgive our insolent behavior and stature," Amaterasu said to her, Susanoo nodding at her every word.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi merely smiled.

"It's alright Great Granddaughter. It is quite refreshing to see how the young ones act in a meeting."

"Agreed," Chaos said smiling. He looked at the Council and spotted an old friend.

"Shiva, I see you're still using that child form."

Shiva smiled at him.

"I see you're no longer using your old man form," Shiva said smirking.

"If I may ask my Lords and Lady, why are you all here?" Athena asked her gray eyes staring at them with a calculating gaze.

Abzu looked at her bored.

"We have been requested to help inform you of a… new threat on the horizon," he replied.

The entire Council stiffened. A new threat? So soon? They were just beginning to return things to normal.

Serafall clapped her hands getting their attention.

"We have word from Heaven who has sent an operative to scout out a recent string of abductions that have ended with the entire family being killed except for one child who always goes missing."

"What does that have to do with us?" a woman with violet hair asked. She was the Jade Rabbit, the Chinese Lunar Deity.

"The operative in question was Risa, the Assassin of Heaven and codenamed, The Scourge of God," Serafall informed. Every god froze. If Heaven sent her, then this threat must be big.

"What did she find?" Susanoo asked for once serious.

"The children being taken ranged from the age of 7 to 20 years of age. Some human, some supernatural. Furthermore, the first child taken Lily Hofferson, dubbed Victim Zero, was reported by Risa to escape using some form of teleportation. However, the ability is not what worries me.

"What worries me was the level of power that the child radiated. In her report, Risa stated that the child on the Global Power Scale ranked as a C-Rank Ultimate Class Being."

The entire room burst into shouts. A child of that level of power was running around the world and even the Scourge of God could not track her.

"QUIET!" the entire room went silent at Serafall's voice.

"Luckily, we seem to have identified a ring leader behind the events. He sent to beings," Serafall said as she put up a picture on the projector. An image of an armored man with glowing green eyes and a violet haired woman with black eyes appeared.

"The human authorities have put out an arrest warrant for them. However, it is paramount that we get to them first. On top of that, it seems we have identified a ring leader thanks to Heaven's and the Elder Gods' efforts."

Serafall gestured for Michael. Michael walked to the podium and began to talk.

**With Azrael**

"The Demon in question is known by many titles."

Issei listened in wanting to know who it was.

"Humans call him Lord of the Flies. The Sin of Gluttony. The Man with the Yellow Eyes. But the demon in question has a name," Azrael said to Issei.

"What's his name?" he asked her tense in his chair.

**With Michael**

"His name is…" Michael said.

**With Azrael**

"He is called…" Azrael said.

"'Beelzebub'" Michael and Azrael said at once.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 11:15 PM**

Akeno watched as the boys ran through several magic exercises with Asia. She praised Eren's natural magical ability making the boy blush and stutter.

"Ah, Asia-chan, I need to use the restroom. Will you walk them through the rest and begin teaching them mid level spells?" Akeno asked.

"Of course, Akeno-oneesama," was her reply as Asia walked over and began to lecture.

Akeno walked to the restroom, walked in, closed the door locking it. She had been feeling feverish ever since she got back from the Supermarket. It was strange. Devils don't get sick. Akeno turned on the water to wet her face. As she looked in the mirror, her usual violet eyes could not be seen staring back. No, the color was different.

Her eyes were gold.

* * *

**Okay, before you all gripe on me about the boys, remember that they were dragged into this by Rias and the other girls. They were played just as badly as Issei as they don't know that the girls were still dating Issei when they started to date. Also, I want someone to keep a tally of all if Issei's big sisters. If someone can tell me how many I added currently, I will probably make an omake of all of them meeting each other. Now, the head honcho and a new species has been introduced in this chapter officially. The Gods now know. Anyone figure out who the third girl is. I mentioned her name once. Before I forget, someone PMed me about the global ranking system that I made. I'll make a DxD Fanon Wiki Article for it. Just look up Midnightverse Power Scale. Remember, make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.**


	8. To America

**Pyre: Hello all, I'd like to get some things out of the way before we start. First off, thank you IluLugal for reading my story. It really meant a lot. If you guys didn't notice, the first several chapters following the prelude are based on his own story, _The Change of a Dragon_. Before you read this chapter, I highly recommend you drop everything you are doing and go read it. It's really good and much better than mine. Now moving on... Congratulations to the final member of Eden Squad. The reason I asked you all for four names was so that I could have a lot of names to put into a random chooser program, I don't know what those are called. They're like random number generators. Anyway, the name that popped up was ... **

**INGVILD LEVIATHAN! **

**Give her a round of applause!**

**Lastly, sorry Irina fans but the votes are in and it looks like we are continuing with our current trajectory. It's going to be a small harem with four girls. Irina, Rossweisse, ?, and ?. Also, at the end of this chapter, I'm going to start adding a little section I like to call Blacklight Dossier. It's kinda like the SCP-Foundation files. I hope you all like it. Okay, now onto the chapter.**

**Eric: All right, kid. CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

_Mental Communication/Flashbacks_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town, Azrael's Apartment, October 21, 2019, 11:56 PM; Current Clock: 7 Minutes to Midnight**

The air grew cold at the very mention of the name. Issei's blood froze and his heart skipped two beats. Ddraig was silent at the name.

"Like the Original Beelzebub? The ancestor of Shalba Beelzebub?" Issei asked her.

Azrael shook her head.

"No, not one of the Original Four Maou. The Demon. Before you ask, Devils and Demons are not the same. Demons are much more ancient than Devils. They are nearly as old as the Elder Gods, or as you would call them, the Creator Deities of each Pantheon," Azrael explained.

"Right now, one of the Seven Deadly Sins or the Princes of Hell is out there. His endgame is unknown as of now but we do know that he's following orders," Azrael said.

"Who is his boss?" Issei said.

"I'll tell you in time. But for now, all you need to know is that the being in question is an Angel. An ancient Angel. We refer to this Angel as the Great Dragon."

**[That means that the other demons are back as well.]**, Ddraig said. Azrael nodded.

**[This is bad, Issei. Demons are much more ruthless and more powerful than devils. The lowest of the Demons is equal to a C Rank Mid Class in power.]**

Issei's eyes grew wide. If the small fry were this powerful, just how strong are the leaders? He needed to tell everyone. Get them ready for this new threat.

"Stay for the night. It's getting late. You can use your old room," Azrael said. Issei nodded gratefully. He walked over and saw Lily wearing new clothes.

"Hey, Lily, do you like your new clothes?" Issei asked squatting down to her height. She nodded at him brightly. Issei smiled and patted her head.

"Issei, would it be alright if she slept in your room? It would do her better to be with someone she's familiar with," Risa said walking over. He nodded and picked Lily up. Issei walked to his old room and opened the door. Everything was the same. The bed. The drawings. The picture of him and Azrael on his twelfth birthday. His gaze drifted over to one particular picture. It was of five year old him and a woman in her late teens with white hair and blue eyes. Her bangs were tied in a short, upward ponytail.

_Lily-nee…_, Issei thought.

Lily noticed Issei look at the photo.

"Issei, who's that?" she pointed.

"That's Lily. She has the same name as you and she was the person who looked after me before Az-nee did," Issei said fondly remembering the memories.

_"Onee-chan, look what I made," a five-year-old Issei said holding out a drawing. _

"_Oh, let me see," a white-haired woman took the drawing and looked it over. It was a stick version of her and Issei._

"_Wow, Issei-chan. I didn't know I looked after an artist. I'll hang it up here," she said pinning it to the board above her desk._

"Issei" Lily's voice snapped him out of his reverie. A myriad of emotions ran through his eyes. Lily looked at him with worry.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay", Issei said. He put her down and walked to his old closet to pull out a futon. He set the futon down next to his old bed. After that, he tucked Lily in.

"Issei, sing me a lullaby," Lily said.

Issei smiled at her and walked over to sing her a lullaby. He remembered the song Lily used to sing to him.

_**Play Tabi no Tochuu from Spice and Wolf**_

"_Tada hitori  
Mayoi komu tabi no naka de  
Kokoro dake samayotte tachitsukushita  
Demo ima wa tooku made  
Arukidaseru  
Sou kimi to kono michi he  
Deatte kara_

_Tabibito tachi ga utau  
Mishiranu uta mo  
Natsukashiku kikoete kuru yo  
Tada kimi to iru to_

_Yume mita sekai ga  
Dokoka ni aru nara  
Sagashi ni yukou ka  
Kaze no mukou he _

_Itetsuku yoake no  
Kawaita mahiru no _

_Furueru yamiyo no  
hate wo mi ni yukou_

_Sabishisa wo shitte iru  
Kimi no hitomi  
Mabataite sono iro wo  
Utsusu kara_

_Takaku sora made tonde  
Mikazuki ni naru  
Hakkairo no hoshi wa kitto  
Namida no kakera_

_Higashi no kuni no minato nishi no umibe  
Kurai mori de minami no machi kin no tou  
Kita no oka mizu ni yurareta onaji tsuki ga_

_Sashidasu sono te wo  
Tsunaide ii nara  
Doko made yukou ka  
Kimi to futari de  
Doko he mo yukeru yo  
Mada minu sekai no  
Zawameki kaori wo  
Nakishime ni yukou."  
_

After he finished, he saw Lily fast asleep, snoring lightly. He brushed a couple of stray locks of hair away from her face. Issei then got on his futon and went promptly to sleep.

**Celestial Council, 8:56 PM**

The whole room was frozen at the name mentioned. Shiva and Parvati stared at their fellow Elder Gods for a confirmation. The four nodded confirming that the name mentioned was correct.

"Who is Beelzebub? The Maou?" Hermes asked.

"No, not the Devil," Michael said.

"Allow me, Michael," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said as she stepped up to the podium. Michael allowed her to take over.

"Before we begin with who Beelzebub is, we must know what he is. Beelzebub is a Demon and no, they are not the same as Devils. Demons are an ancient race of beings created by the Great Dragon to be the greatest guardians of all Physical Creation. Earth, mainly. Over time, the Demons grew drunk with power and 65 million years ago, the Holy War, a cataclysmic war between us and the Angels and the Demons, occurred. The demons were beaten back and driven to Hell.

"Now, Beelzebub is one of the Seven Princes of Hell. They are the leaders of the other Demons and bear the title pertaining to one of the Seven Deadly Sins," Mikaboshi explained to them. The gods grew quiet at this.

"So, this Beelzebub… he is behind the current multiple cases of missing persons? What does he want with those children?" Angra Mainyu asked them.

"I got this one," a voice rang out. Azazel walked into the Council Building and up to the podium.

"It seems that Beelzebub has injected young children with Miasma. Miasma is the energy used by demons and can be transferred to others. The problem is that the user must have a strong enough body or the user must be young. These children were most likely given the Miasma at infantile age. However, this is all just a theory Azrael came up with," Azazel began to explain after reaching the podium. Then, he put up the data he received from Issei.

"This data was gathered from our resident, Red Dragon Emperor," Azazel stated. Michael, Gabriel, and Serafall's eyes grew wide. He had been in contact with Issei?

Azazel saw the look they gave him and shot a look back that said 'later'.

"These readings show a large concentration of Miasma inhabiting Issei's blood. His cells are saturated and produce dark energy. The result is a large boost to the power reserve of the individual. With the Miasma readings in addition to Issei's reserves, his ranking of the Global Power Scale (GPS) would be around at an SSS to EX Rank Ultimate Class. I don't even want to think about what would happen if he paired it with the Boosted Gear.

"Furthermore, observations from the past about Miasma consumption or injections have always transformed the ones consuming it into beasts or are granted demonic attributes. The most common is the change in the color of their sclera when using their powers. It always changes to black. The abilities gained from this varies from individual to individual. Currently, the data Risa provided us with is that teleportation seems to be an ability one of them possesses. I will inform you more about this once we acquire more data. My sister and I have decided to work with the organization, Blacklight."

At the mention of the name, the entire room began to discuss among themselves. Athena took that time to speak.

"Azazel-dono, please allow the Greco-Roman Pantheon to assist you in any way. Blacklight works within our jurisdiction and we do correspond with them on occasion to hunt down a target our demigods cannot handle."

Azazel nodded.

"We will be sending the Red Dragon Emperor and his team to investigate the most recent demon sighting in America," Azazel informed her.

"Please expect them to arrive in a few days."

Athena nodded at him.

"Now to continue, we have decided to move the Azazel Cup forward" everyone groaned at the name but Azazel ignored them, "to flush Beelzebub out. Beelzebub will waste no opportunity to use this public event to announce his presence to all of us."

The other gods agreed with him. Some were more vocal in their agreement. The faster the threat was eliminated, the faster they could get back to this new peace that they were enjoying.

"That was my piece," Azazel said stepping down. Serafall stepped up and said her piece before ending the meeting.

"Please keep yourselves on high alert and notify all other pantheons if they are spotted. That will be all. Meeting adjourned," Serafall said.

"Wait!" Amaterasu said stopping everyone.

"If you could estimate, how strong are Beelzebub and the other two in accordance to the GPS?" she asked.

The three Archangels looked at each other before Gabriel answered her question.

"The two he sent are at least SS to EX- Ultimate Class in strength. Beelzebub. He is an SS Rank Deity Class Demon."

**Hyoudou Manor, October 22, 2019, 10:25 AM**

A flash of red light appeared outside the gate to Issei's house. Issei and Lily stepped out of the circle. Before opening the gate, Issei knelt to her eye level.

"Okay, I'm going to introduce you to some of my friends okay? Remember, introduce yourself."

Lily nodded. In her arms was a small stuffed Toothless that he had bought for her before coming here.

Issei opened the gate. He felt Lily pull his sleeve. She stretched her arms out to him. Issei smiled and knelt with his back facing her. She climbed onto his back and they made their way over to the Grove. They walked silently for five minutes until the duo landed on the telltale clearing of the Grove.

Lily's eyes gained stars. The place was so beautiful.

"Lily, sit tight for a moment. I need to call my friends over here," Issei told her. She nodded and went over to the small dock Issei had built after he had his pieces removed. She took her sandals off and began kicking her feet in the water.

Issei formed a CC and called over Irina, Kiba, Rossweisse, Mitsuki, and Gasper. Several minutes later, the five people he called walked into the Grove. Issei called Lily over to him. Lily walked over and saw five new people standing in front of her looking at her curiously.

Issei gave her a small gentle push forward.

"Guys. This is Lily Hofferson. Please make her feel welcome. Speak English around her. I'm just starting to teach her Japanese."

The five stared at the red-haired, blue-eyed child. It was obvious that she was starved as the signs were all over her face. Irina's face melted into a gushing smile when the little girl waved shyly. She glomped her and began to run her cheek on hers.

Rossweisse was more controlled as she didn't crumble from the little girl's cuteness factor.

"Where did you find her Issei?" Kiba asked him.

Issei looked down at the grass fists clenched hard.

"Inside a dumpster looking for food."

The five stopped to stare at Issei. Irina's hand flew to her mouth in horror. Rossweisse had her mouth open in shock. Gasper had tears building up in his eyes. Mitsuki and Kiba were shaking in anger. The two unconsciously began to release a small amount of their power causing them to slightly glow.

Lily froze and hid her face in Irina's chest. Irina noticed her fear and hugged her. She began to say soothing words and stroked her hair. Irina turned and glared at Kiba and Mitsuki. The two noticed the effect they had on the girl and stopped immediately.

"Lily-chan, I'm sorry if we scared you," Mitsuki said getting down to the girl.

Lily poked her head out and looked at her. She looked like a girl version of Issei. Lily nodded her head at the two of them but still clung to Irina's leg.

"What happened to her?" Rossweisse asked.

"Her mother and brother…" Issei began.

"They were killed right in front of her. I talked with Az-nee last night and this morning before coming home. She said that Lily is from London and that she got here through some form of teleportation," Issei finished.

The five stared at him. Irina tightened her hug around Lily. Kiba looked down at the ground and clenched his fists while Mitsuki just looked at her brother in shock. Rossweisse stared at the girl in pity. She was no stranger to death being a valkyrie. Gasper just kept looking at her.

"Please make her feel welcome. She'll be staying in my room since the others don't go inside anymore after the, you know…" Issei said to them.

"Of course, Issei," Kiba said.

"Right now, we need to get her to a doctor to get a check-up." Everyone nodded at Issei's words.

A CC appeared in front of Issei. It was Azazel.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Issei. I need you to meet me at Azrael's apartment," he said over the link.

"Yeah, sure, after Lily's checkup," Issei said.

"Of course, Azrael told me about the girl," he said.

"Make sure to bring your team."

With that, Azazel cut the link.

**Kyoto, Japan, October 22, 2019, 10:45 AM**

Kuroka walked the hallways of the Shrine with many thoughts in her mind. Two were the most dominant.

_How are Issei and Shirone? Perhaps I should visit them, nya?_

A tengu came down and landed in front of her.

"Kuroka-san. Amaterasu-sama wishes to speak with you. She is in the Throne Room."

She nodded and the Tengu left.

_I wonder what Amaterasu-sama wants?_

She arrived in the Throne Room and saw Yasaka sitting there with two other women. Kuroka could make out the sky blue hair of Amaterasu. Across from her was a woman with dark violet hair and red eyes. She wore a white kimono with a cloak that shimmered with the night sky on the inside. On her head was a crest with a moon symbol. Currently, the moon was in a crescent phase. This woman was Tsukuyomi, the Goddess of the Moon.

"Kuroka-chan!" Amaterasu said as soon as she saw her. Yasaka and Tsukuyomi looked up and nodded at her in greeting.

Kuroka bowed to her in greeting.

"Amaterasu-sama, is there something you wish of me?"

"I feel that you have been working too hard since you started here. You need to take a break now and then Kuroka-chan! I don't need you passing out on me during a diplomatic meeting or something."

Amaterasu fixed her a stern look that was ruined by her puffed cheeks.

Kuroka could only stare and nod mutely. The goddess she worked for was as weird as the Four Maou. She looked and saw Tsukuyomi shaking her head at her sister's attitude.

"Kuroka-san. Go take a break. Nee-sama and Yasaka-san will be fine for a few days," Tsukuyomi said kindly to the Nekoshou.

Kuroka smiled and bowed to them. She immediately made a transportation circle and vanished.

"That girl. I'm rooting for her," Tsukuyomi stared at the spot where Kuroka just was. Amaterasu looked at her while Yasaka started muttering about not letting that cat get the dragon before her daughter.

**Hyoudou Manor 11:35 AM**

Kuroka appeared outside the Gate to Issei's house. She pushed the gates open and made her way up to the front door. Kuroka knocked on the door three times then waited for someone to open it.

The door opened and she saw Asia open it.

"Asia-chan, how are you nya?" Kuroka greeted the girl.

"Eh? I'm doing fine Kuroka-san. I assume you're here to see Koneko-chan?" Asia said back to the older girl. Kuroka nodded. When she walked in, she saw someone new.

"Oh, who's she?" the blonde-haired man said.

"Umm, Tatsuya-san, this is Kuroka. The Devil Ambassador from Kyoto and Koneko-chan's older sister," Asia said.

"Nice to meet you Kuroka-chan," Tatsuya said with a wink. Kuroka just nodded and weakly waved at him. Who the hell was this guy?

"Ne, Asia-chan. Who was jailbait?" Kuroka said pointing to Tatsuya's retreating form.

"Oh, he's a Sacred Gear Wielder Rias-oneesama and Akeno-oneesama found."

She looked back to where the boy once was. His reserves were decent if not average for a C Rank Low Class. Asia led her to the training ground where she saw Koneko sparring with yet another new boy. Asia left allowing the two sisters some privacy.

"Who's the scraggly one, Shirone?" Kuroka asked her sister.

"Onee-sama. This is Hiruko. He's a Sacred Gear Wielder that we are training," Koneko told her. Koneko was currently stuck training Hiruko by herself because Kiba left for some business.

"This is your sister huh? I gotta say I can see the resemblance," the boy said.

"I'm Hiruko," he said, extending his hand for a handshake. Kuroka just looked at him as if he was a gnat.

"Uh-huh," she said as she shook his hand.

"How long will you be here Onee-sama?"

"I'll only be here for a bit. Have you seen Issei-kun nya?"

Koneko froze when she said Issei's name.

"Uhh, no, Onee-sama. I haven't seen Issei-senpai all day. He must be out."

Kuroka nodded but inwardly was wondering why her own sister had lied to her.

"Really, nya? I guess I'll be back tomorrow then nya."

Kuroka walked away from the training field and into the house. Her sister was acting strangely. Who were those two boys? Kuroka opened the front door and stepped outside. A CC appeared in front of Kuroka.

"Hello, nya~!" she greeted.

"Kuroka."

"Vali~!" Kuroka answered back happily.

"Kuroka, I need you to come over to the Grigori Headquarters. We need to discuss a plan for the games. The sign ups for the Games are in about three weeks," Vali said on the other end.

"Haaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Fiiiiiinnnnnneeee! I was on break Vali!" she said over the link.

"Well then, you can use that break to train for the Games," he said over the link.

"Fine, okaa-san," she fired back cutting the link. Kuroka was about to form a magic circle when she felt a chill run down her spine. Her tails stiffened and stood up. Kuroka looked around ready to fight off whoever it was when she saw nobody. Shaking her head and chalking it up to stress from work, Kuroka formed a circle and teleported to Grigori Headquarters.

Unbeknownst to her, a pair of sickly yellow eyes watched her from the third-floor window.

**Azrael's Apartment, 1:45 PM**

Issei knocked on the door. Behind him was Irina, who was carrying Lily, Kiba, Rossweisse, Gasper, and Mitsuki.

The door opened and Azrael was standing there wearing a sleeveless form-fitting shirt and a skirt. The men looked away their faces turning red. Azrael rolled her eyes and led them in. In her living room were Azazel, Michael, Sirzechs, and Grayfia. Grayfia barrelled towards Issei and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. She sobbed and was stroking his hair while saying,

"Please forgive me. Please forgive me. Please forgive me."

Meanwhile, Issei was turning blue from the lack of oxygen and began to pass out. Rossweisse saw this and notified them.

"Um, Grayfia-sama. Issei can't breathe."

Grayfia blinked and let go. Issei slumped onto the floor taking massive gulps of air. The others were snickering at his predicament. Sirzechs walked over and gave Issei a massive hug before letting go.

"Issei, on behalf of the Four Satans and as your brother, I am sorry for ignoring you in your time of need," Sirzechs said getting down on the floor in dogeza position.

Issei backed away. The Maou Lucifer was bowing in front of him apologizing.

"Um, Sirzechs. It's okay. You were busy I get it. Please don't bow to me," Issei said. He had no idea what to do in this situation.

"NO! It's not okay! I ignored you! You could have died! And my sister… Satan, what my sister did!"

Issei stiffened at the mention of Rias. But now wasn't the time to freak out, Issei extended his hand to Sirzechs.

"Sirzechs, what Rias did was not your fault okay? Please stop blaming yourself."

Sirzechs looked at Issei and then grabbed his hand. He pulled Issei into one more hug before walking over to Grayfia's side.

"Aneue. I forgive you," Issei said not sure what she did that warranted forgiveness. Grayfia just smiled at him tearfully.

Michael walked up and put a hand on Issei's shoulder.

"I see Irina made it to you, Red Dragon Emperor, but it seems she left out some minor details about your… situation," Michael said looking at her with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

Irina looked away while still holding Lily and began to whistle.

Michael then walked over to Irina and Lily. Lily looked at Michael but felt calm. He put a finger on her forehead and a small high pitched whistle was heard as Lily began to glow. After the glow died down, Lily was back to perfect health. Her hair was a vibrant red and her dull blue eyes were bright once more.

"Thank you, Michael-sama," Issei told him as he bowed. Michael waved him off and walked back to his seat.

"Issei. Is this your team?" Azazel asked.

Issei nodded.

"Okay, I need you and your team to head to the United States to investigate the most recent demon sighting that happened a few days ago. Right now, they were exorcised but I need you to investigate the house and family living there," Azazel briefed them. Kiba raised his hand.

"Yes Kiba," Azazel said.

"What are demons?" he asked. Issei mentally facepalmed. He had forgotten to tell them. Between going back to the manor and taking Lily to the doctor, he had completely forgotten.

Azrael looked at Issei blankly. He was supposed to tell them of the threat.

She sighed and began to explain for her twin.

"Demons are very ancient beings that have existed since shortly after the birth of this planet. They are different from devils so don't ask if they are the same. Demons wield energy called Miasma which is similar to the Taint of Devils. Miasma came from the Great Dragon when she first created Demons. Are you following so far?"

The five nodded at her explanation.

"Right now, we need you to investigate a theory I have. Have you heard of the string of abductions happening across the globe lately?"

They nodded once more.

"That was the work of Demons."

"!?" The entire group, including Issei, looked at her.

"That girl you're holding Shidou-san", Azrael said gesturing to Lily, "Her entire family was murdered by demons in front of her."

Irina tightened her hold around Lily. She looked at her and saw that her stare was blank. Her eyes became hollow the moment her family was mentioned.

"So you're all sending us to see if we can figure out or confirm your theory as to why these are happening," Kiba asked her with his hand around his chin.

"Yes, that's the basic gist of it," Azazel said. He pulled up a mini hologram projector and put up two images. A man in red armor and a woman with violet hair and black eyes.

Lily began to scream hysterically when she saw the images. Irina began to hug and comfort her but Lily just kept crying and screaming. Issei put his arms out signaling to Irina to hand Lily to him. The moment Issei's arms wrapped around Lily's small frame, she began to calm down and cry into Issei's shirt. After eight minutes, she had quieted down and had fallen asleep due to the crying.

"Excuse me, guys. I need to put Lily into bed," Issei said as he got up and walked to his old room.

The room was quiet after he left. Azrael smacked her twin on the back of the head.

"Why'd you put up that picture!"

Azazel raised his hands at her in surrender.

"I forgot to take it out from the Celestial Council Meeting last night," Azazel said waving his hands.

Issei walked back into the room and sat next to Irina. He motioned for them to continue.

Azazel coughed into his hand and continued.

"You are to keep an eye out for these two. They are very powerful demons who can easily defeat the Scourge of God."

Irina's eyes widened in shock. Those two defeated Risa-sama?

"As of right now, we have classed them as SSS Rank Ultimate Class Demons as we have not been able to properly gauge their strength," Azazel told them.

They just sat there. The enemy was SSS Rank!? How could they even beat them? Issei just barely defeated Apophis and he was using energy boosters!

"You will report to Mount Olympus in New York so that the Greco-Romans know you're running around in their territory," Azrael continued the briefing.

"Umm wait, Azrael-sama," Rossweisse said. She didn't like having to run into a situation unprepared. If these demons were truly this powerful, they would need to have weaknesses to exploit.

"Could you inform us of any weaknesses the demons might have in case of an encounter?"

Azazel and Azrael blinked at the same time.

"Crap!"

"How could"

"We forget"

"To Tell

"Them the"

"'Weaknesses!'" Azazel and Azrael said together facepalming at their own forgetfulness. Old age, right?

"Right", Azrael put here fist on top of her palm, "Demons are weak to Holy Water much like Devils are. To banish them, use an exorcism chant but the devils in the group must cover their ears. Killing them is a different story. To kill them, you will need weapons forged with Enochian Magic which I assume you don't have. Demons do not have the same weakness to light as Devils, can easily walk on consecrated ground, and say Dad's name without a headache."

"Umm, Az-nee," Mitsuki raised her hand, "What are Enochian Weapons and where do we get them?"

"Enochian Weapons are special weapons that are forged with Enochian runes. The flames to forge them are fueled by a tiny portion of one's soul. Preferably the one who will be using the blade. Due to the nature of a soul fragment being used to forge the blade, the blade itself has the ability to damage the body and physically attack the soul. Stabbing the victim in a fatal area will sever the soul from the body killing the victim instantly. After the weapon is forged, they can then choose to bind said weapon to themselves making it so that only they can use it. That is the case with most of the older angels. Sacred Gear are forged in the same way except Dad made it so that it transmigrates upon its wielder's death. Currently, there are no Enochian Forgesmiths on Earth, sadly," Azrael explained to her while pushing up the glasses she inexplicably got from nowhere.

"What's Enochian?" Gasper asked tilting his head.

"Enochian is an ancient language used by Angels and Demons alike. It can be used for magic and is the progenitor of Hebrew," Azazel took over for his sister.

"Ohhhhhhh" was the collective response of Eden Squad.

"Right remember, for this mission, report to Mount Olympus to inform them of your presence in the country. You don't want to accidentally fight or kill some demigods and have the Greco-Romans pissed at you," Sirzechs informed them.

The others began to teleport back to the house to pack essentials for the trip. Issei stayed behind at the apartment to discuss things with the leaders and Azrael.

"Issei, where is Lily going to stay while you're away?" Azrael sipped her tea and looked at him intensely.

Issei furrowed his brow thinking of people who would look after the little girl. Someone he could trust and had a safe place to stay. He then made his choice.

"Aneue," he looked to Grayfia, "will you look after Lily while we're gone?"

"Of course and Millicas would love to have a playmate," Grayfia sad to him smiling. Sirzechs nodded in agreement.

"Grayfia, if you don't mind. My brother and I would like to visit Lily. I believe she needs therapy for PTSD," Azrael informed them.

"..." Issei looked down. He had seen the signs. The momentary freezes. The far off stare. The earlier event where she freaked out over the picture of the two people who killed her parents.

The other occupants also looked down. At such a young age, the girl subjected to such a horrifying event. No child deserved to go what she went through.

"Of course, Azrael-dono. Anything to help her. I assume Raphael-dono would be coming over soon," Grayfia said. Azrael nodded.

Issei got up and left the adults to discuss things amongst themselves and walked to his old room. He opened the door and saw Lily waking up. Issei immediately hugged her confusing the girl.

"Lily-chan, I have to leave for a few days to go on a mission," Issei told her.

The little girl immediately teared up and shook her head.

"Lily, I'll be back. I'm going on a mission to find the bad guys who hurt you and took your family," Issei said. The little girl kept shaking her head with tears streaming down. She hugged him with all her might fearing he would disappear if she ever let go.

Issei sighed and pulled out of her hug. He held out his pinky finger to her. Lily tilted her head to the side before linking her pinky finger with his.

"I solemnly swear to come back. Cross my heart and hope to eat cake," Issei said with a cheeky grin. Lily smiled back.

"You promise?"

"Of course," Issei said.

"Thank you, big brother," she hugged him.

"..." Issei went silent. He was happy that she now thought of him as a member of her family despite being with her for only a day. She must have gone through a lot the past couple of days.

A few hours passed before they had to leave for their mission. The others had gotten back with their stuff. Grayfia would teleport them to the Empire State Building where a Satyr would escort them to . Issei said goodbye to Lily once more before Sirzechs took her back to Lucifer Castle.

"Lily, be a good girl for Sirzechs and Aneue okay?"

"I'll be good."

"When I get back, I'll teach you how to fish."

Lily just responded with her bright smile making Irina coo at the girl.

"Alright, you'll be there for a week. I pulled a couple of strings at the school and by a couple of strings, I mean modified the memories of every staff member. As far as they know, you are on an excused absence for college tours overseas," Azrael told them. Sirzechs grumbled. She didn't have to manipulate his staff.

"Alright, Lily. Have fun and make friends with Millicas okay?" Issei said as Sirzechs grabbed her shoulder and formed a transportation circle. Lily waved at him as she disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Now it's your turn," Grayfia said walking over to them. She formed a red transportation circle under them and disappeared in a flash of red light.

**New York City, United States, 5:45 AM**

Issei and the others appeared in an alley next to the Empire State Building. She went over and briefed them once more.

"Okay, a satyr will meet you at the entrance of the Empire State. Please do be careful, Otouto," Grayfia said. Grayfia formed a magic circle and returned to the Underworld.

"Okay, a satyr," picking up his backpack, Issei walked out into the bustling streets of New York City. It was everything he imagined it to be. Busy. Loud. And too damn bright even for 5 in the damn morning.

"Heeeyyy!" a man who looked to be their age of African American descent wearing an orange t-shirt with the words Camp Half-Blood written on it and a backpack came towards them. His most glaring features were his goat legs and the goat horns on his head.

"I take it you're the Satyr?" Kiba asked him. He nodded and extended his hand.

"I'm Grover Underwood," he said. Issei shook his hand.

"Issei Hyoudou. These are my friends. The blonde with the mole is Kiba Yuuto," Kiba waved when he was introduced.

"The one who looks like a female version of me is my twin sister, Mitsuki Hyoudou," he gestured to his sister who also waved.

"The white-haired one is Rossweisse," Issei said.

"The crossdresser is Gasper Vladi," Gasper smiled at him.

"Last but not least, the orange-haired one is Irina Shidou," Irina waved at him with a warm smile on her face.

"The Red Dragon Emperor! I'm a big fan of you. Will you please sign my Oppai Dragon T-Shirt," pulling out a T-Shirt that said Oppai Dragon, he held it out to Issei. Issei's eyebrow twitched as he asked them for a pen. Irina handed him one and he signed it.

**[I cannot fucking believe this is happening. My reputation as the Fearsome Red Dragon Emperor is ruined!]** Ddraig was slamming his head on the floor inside Issei's mind. Issei felt for him. He had a badass title and people still called him Oppai Dragon. Not that he minded.

"If you would all please follow me," Grover said as he placed the shirt in his bag. He went inside the building and led them all to an elevator. The lobby of the Empire State was a busy place even in the morning. Everything inside looked like it was made of gold.

"Hi, I'd like the key to the 600th floor please," Grover said to the elevator operator.

"There ain't no 600th-floor kid," the operator said to him not taking his eyes off the paper.

"C' mon now. Oppai Dragon has a meeting with the Gods," at the mention of Issei, the operator looked up and dropped the paper. The operator shakily began to touch Issei all over his face.

The others were now dying with laughter. Kiba was leaning onto the wall for support. Gasper and Mitsuki were clutching their stomachs laughing while Rossweisse laughed behind her hand. Irina was rolling on the floor.

"Will you please stop touching my face?" Issei asked him feeling very creeped out. The operator snapped out of it and apologized.

"I'm so sorry sir. Here's the key," handing them the key, they rode the elevator to the 600th floor and arrived on Mt. Olympus.

Mt. Olympus was a beautiful place. The Greek architecture was impeccable and he felt as if the group felt as they walked back into the classical age. Various temples belonging to each one of the Gods were scene and statues of the heroes of Greek Mythology stood lining the streets. At the plaza, there was a statue that stood out form the rest. It was seven people but the most prominent was a teenage boy. He had messy hair and wore the same T-shirt as some of the statues. In his hand was a 3-foot xiphos.

"Hey, Grover, who's that?" Kiba pointed at the statue of the seven particularly the leader.

"Oh, those are the Seven. They were seven demigods selected by the Great Prophecy of our pantheon. They helped in the Second Gigantomachy and defeated Gaia, Protogenos of the Earth. The one in the middle is Percy Jackson. He's the son of Poseidon," Grover explained with pride on his face.

This Percy had Issei and Kiba's respect. He looked like a strong warrior from the looks of it.

They continued their walk to the Council Room and noticed something. There were some modern features such as electric streetlights and screens hanging on some of the buildings. Various spirits, nymphs they all assumed, walked past them giggling and pointing at Issei. Some even sent him flirty looks causing Irina and Rossweisse to fume.

Grover led them through and soon they arrived at a massive temple with large golden double doors. Inside were the Olympian Gods seated on 14 thrones in a reverse U. Issei spotted two people sitting in the middle. One was a man with a beard and black hair. His eyes were electric blue and wore a blue pinstripe suit. He was Zeus, King of the Greek Gods and God of the Skies and Lightning. Next to him was a beautiful woman with raven black hair and brown eyes. She wore a green shimmering dress with peacock feathers. This was Hera, Queen of the Greek Gods and Goddess of Women and Marriage. On Zeus' right was a man with black hair and sea-green eyes. He wore a Tommy Bahama T-shirt and khaki shorts as well as Birkenstocks. He resembled Percy Jackson. This was Poseidon, the God of the Seas.

Next to him was a man wearing a black toga with black hair. The group didn't recognize him until they saw the blue flames in dancing in his eyes. It was Hades, the God of the Underworld. Next to Hades was a small girl. She had brown hair and a kind smile on her face. She wore brown robes with a hood that was currently down. Her eyes were golden orange and an aura of fire surrounded her eyes. This was Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and Fire. On her right was a woman wearing a gardener's outfit. She had blonde hair and forest green eyes, unlike Poseidon's sea-green eyes. This was Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture.

Next to Demeter was a woman in her late teens. She had auburn hair and silver eyes. She wore a silver parka and had a bow at her lap. She constantly looked at Kiba and Issei disdainfully. This was Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and the Moon. Seated on her right was a man with blue eyes and long blonde hair tied in a man-bun. He wore a white shirt with a yellow tattered jacket, blue jeans, and a pair of Yacht Club Vans. This was Apollo, God of the Sun.

Now moving onto Hera, on her right was a man with blonde hair like Apollo in a buzzcut. His eyes were red and he wore a biker's outfit. This was Ares, the God of War. Next to him was a woman of great beauty. Her eyes shifted colors constantly. Her body surpassed that of most of the women Issei knew and she wore a pink dress. This was Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Lust. Next to her was a bald man with orange eyes and a beard. He had a few scars. His left leg was a prosthesis. He wore a welder's outfit. He was Hephaestus, the God of the Forge. Next to him was a blonde-haired man with blue eyes much like Apollo. The only difference was that he was sharply dressed yet still carried an air of mischief. He was Hermes, the God of Thieves and Messenger God. Next to Hermes was a large overweight man. He had black hair and violet eyes. He wore a leopard print shirt and green shorts. This was Dionysus, the God of Wine and Revelry. And lastly was a woman wearing gray robes. There was a golden eagle perched at the top of her throne and a silver shield lay at the foot of it. She had black hair and stormy grey eyes. This was Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and Warcraft.

"Red Dragon Emperor, we welcome you and your entourage to Mt. Olympus," Zeus thundered.

Issei and the others bowed to him.

"Red Dragon Emperor, we assume that you and your friends are here to investigate the threat?" Poseidon asked them.

"Yes, Poseidon-sama, we are here to look into the most recent demon sighting that was at Sioux Falls and possibly figure out their motive. All we ask is that your demigods and Artemis-sama's hunters do not try to attack or kill us if we ever meet," Issei spoke with respect. He did not want to piss of a pantheon.

"Father, why do we need this _boy_? My hunters and I are perfectly capable of handling this," Artemis complained to her father.

"Artemis, the Red Dragon Emperor is better suited for this than your hunters. From what I assume, he and his friends have more knowledge of these demons due to their close ties to the Archangel Azrael," Athena calmly said in a matter of fact tone, "sending you and the Hunt would be a pointless waste of lives making you a highly illogical choice."

Artemis glared at Athena with her eyebrow twitching. Athena merely stared back blankly unfazed by her younger sister's glare.

"Besides, the Red Dragon Emperor and his buddy over there looks absolutely yummy.~ If you two ever need a good time~," Aphrodite winked at them causing Issei and Kiba to shudder.

"Aphrodite, calm yourself," Zeus ordered. He stroked his beard as he pondered the Red Dragon Emperor's request.

"Very well, Red Dragon Emperor. But please, at least accept a guide. We would send you two of Olympus' finest warriors and demigods," Zeus said.

"Can me and my friends discuss this for a moment, Zeus-sama?" Issei asked. Zeus nodded. Issei motioned for all of them to huddle.

"Okay guys, should we accept?" Issei asked.

"I think we should. They should know the layout of the land better than we do," Rossweisse replied.

"I agree," Irina said.

"Seconded," Kiba answered.

"Thirded," Mitsuki said her opinion.

"Fourthed," Gasper said.

"Alright then," Issei turned back to the King of the Greco-Roman Gods.

"Zeus-sama, we graciously accept your offer," Issei said.

Zeus nodded at Hermes and he disappeared in a flash of light. He later came back with two people. A man with black hair and green eyes wearing an orange T-shirt like Grover's. They recognized him as Percy Jackson from the statue. Next to him was a woman with blonde hair styled in princess curls. Her eyes were like Athena's; stormy grey with an analytic glint. Like Grover and Percy, she also wore an Orange T-Shirt with the words, Camp Half-Blood.

"These are Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase," Zeus gestured his right hand over to the two, "They shall be your guides during your stay."

Issei nodded gratefully.

"If you'll excuse us Red Dragon Emperor," Zeus and Hera disappeared in a flash of lightning with the other gods following.

Eden Squad turned to the two demigods standing before them. Annabeth walked up to him holding a rolled-up paper. She stared directly into Issei's brown eyes intensely. Issei began to feel uncomfortable and looked to her companion. He was shaking his head and chuckling. Issei made out some of his mutters such as "I can't believe I'm dating a fangirl."

Her eyes suddenly lit up and gained stars in them.

"Ohmygoshyou'reIsseiHyoudoutheRedDragonEmperor!Willyoupleasesignmyposter!" she fired rapidly while thrusting the poster into his chest.

"..." Issei just stared blankly before smiling at her. He pulled out the pen Irina had given and signed his name on it. Issei handed it back to Annabeth who stared at it. He swore she was drooling.

"Hey Wise Girl. Don't you think we should go with them to South Dakota now?" Percy had saved Issei from a further predicament. He was mentally thanking God for this man.

Annabeth snapped out of it. She looked at Percy with her grey eyes and back towards Eden Squad. Annabeth stood straight and extended her hand.

"I am Annabeth Chase, Demigod Daughter of Athena. This Seaweed Brain standing behind me is Percy Jackson, Demigod Son of Poseidon," she gestured to Percy Jackson.

"We will be your escorts and guides for the duration of your stay in America Red Dragon Emperor," Annabeth informed them.

"Hey, if you don't mind. We should really get going," Percy told them. Issei nodded at him. He looked to the others and they nodded back.

"Do you have a form of transportation?" Gasper asked them.

"We'll take the camp van," Percy said. Eden Squad and the two demigods began their trek down to the first floor.

"So, are guys participating in the Azazel Cup?" Percy asked them. Issei nodded.

"Are you?"

"Yeah. We've been training for it since we first heard. I've always wanted to fight the Dragon Emperors," he told Issei.

"Well, I hope we fight each other then, Hero of Olympus," Percy's eyes widened at the mention of his title. Irina, Rossweisse, and Annabeth just looked at them shaking their heads in exasperation. _Men._

They walked out of the lobby and to the van. It was a simple white windowless van with a logo that said Delphi Strawberry Services. The group boarded the van and Percy turned it on.

"So where are we going again?" he turned to the back to look at them. The six looked at each other before Kiba spoke up.

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota."

**Grigori Headquarters, 4:45 PM, Same time Eden Squad is being briefed for the Mission**

Kuroka walked feeling like death. Beside her, Bikou was dragging his feet across the hallway. They had both felt like their bodies had just been put through an army of steamrollers.

"Why in the Nine Circles of Hell did Vali put us through this?" Bikou threw his arms up complaining about the battle maniac.

"Ugghh, stop talking nya! I need a drink," Kuroka dragged her feet across the Grigori Halls.

"Hey, I heard Azazel keeps all the best drinks in his office," Bikou told her. Kuroka's eyes looked at him with a playful glint.

"Well, then Goku, lead the way nya," Kuroka ordered. The two made their way to Azazel's office to raid his drink fridge. Bikou pushed the door open not even bothering to knock. Azazel's office was as messy as always. But, it seemed he wasn't here at the moment. They looked around for Azazel's mini-fridge. He had moved it since they had raided it last time Vali had put them through a session.

Kuroka spotted a small metal orb laying on Azazel's desk along with some files. Curiosity got the better of her and she began to look through them. Her eyes widened and she dropped the files. It was those boys she saw at the house. There were pictures of them and the other girls on dates. A picture of her sister kissing that gray-haired twig back at the house looked back at her mocking her.

"Hey, Kuroka! I found the beer. Where are you…" Bikou stopped talking as he saw Kuroka shaking. Her fists were clenched tightly and blood began to flow from them.

"So that's why Vali felt it, huh?" Her head turned so fast Bikou swore she snapped her neck. Her golden eyes were glowing in anger. Bikou paled and began to tell her how Vali had felt Issei felt enter the Juggernaut Drive.

"I guess now we know why right? Kuroka?"

"..." her silence was suffocating. He saw tears streaking her face. Bikou saw the metal orb and saw a few buttons on it. He pressed a triangle button and a hologram appeared. It was of Issei. He looked horrible. Like a man who had been denied food and kept in isolation. Kuroka's eyes watched in horror as her hand flew to her mouth. If the tears weren't flowing from before, they certainly were now.

"_Is this thing working?" Issei's voice was heard._

_**[It's on Partner. See that red light. Don't you have a camcorder? It works the same way.]**__, Ddraig's voice could be heard._

_"Thanks, Ddraig. So if you found this, that means one of two things. One: My ass is grass and you need something to play at my funeral. Word of advice; please keep it simple. I'm a simple man with simple needs. Two: You finally decided to come and check on me and found this little guy." _

_"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to attempt something so crazy that Ddraig said that my chances of succeeding are so close to zero, it might as well be. So this is the final testament of Issei Hyoudou. _

_In several hours, Ddraig and I will initiate Operation: KMS. For those of you not caught up with the terms, KMS means "Kill Myself."_

"_In layman's terms, I'm going to remove my pieces and not die. Hopefully._

"_Why am I doing this? I have nothing to lose. Things aren't the same. The girls… they're…"_

_**[Partner…]**_

"_I'm fine Ddraig. Anyway, Irina is coming to help me with it. Hopefully, she can keep me stable enough to survive the process."_

"_I just can't stand it anymore. The pain. The nightmares. I gave up sleeping but then they followed me to the waking world. I see her die over and over again. HAHAHAHA! I can't take it anymore. Even if it kills me, I will remove them._

_So to whoever, finds this. Tell Irina I love her and let's keep this between us okay. It'll be our little secret."_

Bikou and Kuroka just stared in mute horror at Issei's agony. Kuroka fell to her knees and began to sob.

"Issei-kun… what happened to you?"

Bikou put a hand on her shoulder as he looked at her sadly. He might not have been as close to the Sekiryuutei as Vali but the boy was his friend. They had fought together against Qlippoth and Issei helped them pardons for their crimes while working with Khaos Brigade.

Suddenly, the telltale sound of wings flapping filled the room. Azazel was back. It was a long briefing and now Issei and his team were off on his mission. He noticed his door was open and felt two energy signatures. Kuroka and Bikou. They must be raiding his mini-fridge again. Azazel walked in and saw something that made him freeze on the spot.

The recording was playing. Kuroka and Bikou were standing there listening. He rapped his hand on the wall getting their attention. The two looked at him.

"Get Vali and the rest here. I'll explain all I can to you," Azazel told Bikou sighing. There was no turning back. The two had already seen the files and recording and would undoubtedly tell Vali and the rest.

Bikou formed a CC and informed Vali of the situation. Immediately, a magic circle formed with Vali, Arthur, Fenrir, and Le Fay stepping out.

"What is it Azazel," Vali said, tapping his foot impatiently, "I was training. This better be important."

Azazel pointed to the hologram of Issei. The newly arrived occupants turned their heads and looked.

"!?" their reactions were immediate. Le Fay turned green at the sight and covered her mouth. Arthur just stared frozen in horror. Fenrir whined and put his head down. Vali just looked. His rival. His brother. Reduced to such a state.

"What the hell happened to him, Azazel!?" Vali began to yell and ordered Azazel to tell him. Azazel looked at him with an unreadable stare. He motioned for all of them to sit down. Azazel summoned six glasses, a bowl, and a bottle of scotch. They were going to need it.

Azazel began to explain everything regarding what happened to Issei. The girls. The pieces. His removal of said pieces. At one point, Vali threw the glass against the wall in anger at what the girls did to his rival. They all looked to Kuroka. Her eyes were blank and she was staring off into space.

"Hey, Kuroka. Are you okay?" Le Fay asked while grasping her hand.

Kuroka looked at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Nyaaa, I'm fine Le Fay-chan. Don't worry about me. Worry about the girls. Because when the games come, I may not be able to kill them but I will _break _them," Kuroka said with a smile and blank eyes. Le Fay nodded in fear. Angry Kuroka was Scary Kuroka.

"Just as long as you don't do anything to maim them beyond the healing power of Phenex Tears," Azazel told her. Inwardly, he was shitting bricks.

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota, October 24, 2019, 11:30 AM**

Issei and company got out of the van stretching their legs.

"Haaa, fresh air!" Irina stretched her arms and legs. Issei tried not to stare at her as she did that.

"It is nice to get out of the car," Rossweisse said as she finished.

"I'm hungry, you guys want to get something to eat," Mitsuki told them. Everyone nodded and walked out into town. They had checked into a Days Inn Motel to stay for the week. Unfortunately, they had to share rooms as they didn't have enough money to rent individual rooms. It was Mitsuki, Kiba, and Gasper. Percy and Annabeth. Issei, Irina, and Rossweisse. They all walked and saw a small eatery. Heidi's Grill Steakhouse. They walked in and got a table for eight. A waitress came over and seated them. The waitress then took their orders and left.

"If you don't mind, can we join you on your investigation?" Annabeth asked.

"No, we don't mind. We could use the help," Mitsuki answered back.

A waiter and a waitress came back with the food. As they began to eat, Issei decided to break down the events of the mission.

"Okay, the victim's house is on 45628, Auburn Hill Court. The house is still standing but the victim was placed into protective custody by the police," Issei said as he took out a map he had gotten earlier of the town.

"We need to gain entry into the crime scene to investigate it. Any ideas?" he asked pointing to the location on the map.

"We could use the Mist," Percy offered. The six looked at him having no idea what the Mist was.

Annabeth sighed. Percy needed to explain things and not just assume everyone knew what things were.

"The Mist is a protective magical barrier that spans the whole country. It keeps humans from seeing the Greco-Roman World and allows us demigods and gods to go about our businesses. Some humans can see past it. We call them clear-sighted mortals. However, the Mist isn't keyed to hide the presence of other pantheons so you guys will have to let us do our part to get us all in," Annabeth explained. She took a sip of her water.

The six nodded at her.

"Oh, I've heard that people in this town are disappearing in the woods and are being found mutilated. Think they're connected somehow," Kiba asked. Issei furrowed his brow. There was a possibility that it could be demons but it could also be a local killer. Either way, it was worth a shot.

"We'll split up and ask around," Issei took a bite out of his steak. They finished their meals making small talk and jokes. On one occasion, Percy laughed so hard and spit water all over Annabeth. They finished, asked for the check, paid the bill, and left a tip. The group walked out of the diner and went on to decide who went with who.

"Okay…", Issei was interrupted by Irina.

"Gasper, Mitsuki, Annabeth, and I will go to investigate the house. You, Rossweisse, Percy, and Kiba go investigate the disappearances," Irina ordered. She looked into Issei's eyes and he cowed. Kiba and Percy snickered and made whipping motions.

"Wapush!" Issei glared at them.

They split up and as Rossweisse passed Irina. Irina whispered into her ear.

"Good luck!~"

Rossweisse's eyes widened and saw Irina smiling at her. She winked and gave her a thumbs up. Irina had done this on purpose to give her some alone time with Issei. She saw them a ways off waiting for her. She ran to catch up with them.

**45628, Auburn Hill Ct, Sioux Falls, SD, 3:30 PM**

The group consisting of Irina, Mitsuki, Gasper, and Annabeth walked up to the house. The entire front portion was blown off and scorch marks were seen on the house and the pavement. Yellow DO NOT CROSS tape lined the entire crime scene. So far, there were no police there. Irina lifted the tape and walked inside. The others followed her in.

"Okay, split up and find anything that points to what they wanted with the kid. If anything feels like Issei, tell me," Irina gave them orders before breaking off to look at part of the house. Issei had let them feel his new power earlier and she'd be lying if she wasn't unnerved. Such dark power did not fit Issei but luckily, Azrael assured them that the power would not affect Issei negatively as his mind and body had acclimated to it after years of exposure.

She looked around in the master's bedroom. Bloodstains filled the entire room and chalk outlines of who she assumed were the parents were drawn on the bed and floor. She felt it. Power. Similar to Issei's but darker. Sinister. Vile. Irina heard Gasper call her. He had been investigating the older sister's room and said that he felt the same power but worse. They heard Mitsuki call. She was in the victim's room. Irina, Gasper, and Annabeth ran up as soon as they heard her call.

"The power in this room. There are five residual signatures. One is an Angel's which I assume is Risa-dono's. The other two's were vile and dark. It reeked of malice. I assume that they were the demons. The last one felt like Aniki's," Mitsuki furrowed her brow at the yellow powder. She brought a small pinch up to her face to get a closer look. She immediately retched.

"Yup, sulfur…" Mitsuki dropped the powder. She had heard about it in Chemistry but never imagined it would smell worse than how people described.

"So now we know that they were here for the boy because of his powers… question is why?" Irina put a hand to her chin and began to think.

"Well, from what you told us, the targets need them for something," Annabeth said, "but we can't know until we have more information."

The three looked at her and nodded.

"Let's head back to the motel and wait for them," Irina said and the four walked out of the house.

**Sioux Falls State National Park, SD, 8:45 PM**

They had been walking around all day asking different people about the disappearances in the woods. They had found one man who had escaped but at the cost of his arm. Manipulating the Mist, Percy made them all look like the FBI and they talked to the man. The man described his assailant as pale white. Milky eyes. Sharp teeth. Long Arms. The strength of ten professional weight lifters. He said he was hiking at the state park. Thanking him, the group consisting of Issei, Rossweisse, Kiba, and Percy walked out of the hospital and made their way to the national park. It was night time and the moon was nearly full. Issei decided they should split up with Kiba offering to take Percy while Issei and Rossweisse stuck together. He was even more confused when Kiba winked at Rossweisse and when she turned red.

"Nice night huh?" Issei asked hands behind his head as they walked along the forest trail with nothing but the moon and stars as light. The woods were really beautiful at night. He looked and his breath hitched.

The moon reflected off of Rossweisse's silver hair and face. She looked at him with her turquoise-colored eyes filled with love and admiration. He gulped.

"Yeah," Rossweisse smiled back at him with her cheeks slightly red. Her smile was beautiful and Issei felt he could stare at her all night. They leaned their faces closer together. Just as their lips were about to touch, a blood-curdling scream rang through the night. The two stiffened and got into a battle position. Nodding, Issei and Rossweisse ran towards the source of the noise.

There was a girl, sixteen years old from the looks of it wearing a letterman jacket, running towards them. She was sobbing hysterically and covered in blood.

"Please, you have to help me!" she begged. Issei tried to calm her down.

"Whoa, whoa, lady slow down," he said. A roar caught Issei's attention. There in the trees was a humanoid being. It was bald. Deathly white. Milky eyes. Emaciated figure. Its mouth was lined with numerous sharp teeth and at the ends of its toes and fingers were claws.

**[Partner, that's a Wendigo. A Native American Spirit that feasts on humans!]** Ddraig informed him.

"Miss, I need you to run and get help," Issei told her. She nodded through tears.

"What about you two? I can't just leave you!" the girl screamed. She felt a hand on her shoulder. Rossweisse looked at her with a smile.

"We'll be fine. Now GO!" the girl ran. Seeing this, the Wendigo began to chase after her but Issei appeared in front of it midjump and punched it sending the Wendigo crashing through the canopy.

"So, Rossweisse, ever fought one of these?" he said summoning Boosted Gear.

"Nope. But you learn something new every day," she replied summoning several magic circles behind her and Mistileinn. The Wendigo lunged at them fangs bared and claws splayed ready to rip into their throats.

**[Boost!]**

Issei dodged and brought his elbow onto its back embedding it onto the forest floor. Rossweisse fired several elemental spells at the Wendigo causing it to scream. It got up running around. It seemed that fire worked on it rather well.

**[Partner, try that new fire technique you have]** Ddraig said. Issei nodded and focused on his Miasma. The Boosted Gear turned black and gained a reddish tint. Issei opened his eyes and they were black and green. Rossweisse felt Issei's power become dark and saw him holding a black and green flame on top of his left palm.

"Let this pure fire judge the wicked and eradicate their bodies. **Inferno!**" Issei threw the fireball hitting the wendigo head-on. Rossweisse watched in awe as the fire ate right through the beast's hide. The wendigo screamed in agony as its entire body crumbled to ash. Issei sighed and unsummoned Boosted Gear. His eyes returned to their normal color. As he turned to ask Rossweisse if she was okay, he felt a pair of lips capture his. Rossweisse had just kissed him. He returned it gladly. They pulled apart for air and stared into each other's eyes. Suddenly, they heard a cough. Issei and Rossweisse flew away from each other and saw Kiba and Percy standing there with an unknown man. They were smirking.

"Are we interrupting something?" the man asked. He had white hair, blue eyes, and a faint beard. He was wearing a black shirt and pants along with brown combat boots. He wore a red trenchcoat with a black sun logo on the left breast pocket. On his back was a massive black broadsword and at his hips were holsters for two pistols.

"Umm, no, no, just enjoying the night," a red-faced Issei said.

"Y-yeah. W-what a beautiful m-moon we have out?" Rossweisse said equally red.

"Who are you anyway?" Issei asked the man before them.

"Oh, where the hell are my manners? Sure kid. My name is Eric Marshall. A member of the organization Blacklight and I gotta say. You did a nice job taking out that Wendigo," Eric introduced himself with a slight bow.

The four gawked. This man was part of Blacklight. The secret organization that protected the world from humans and the supernatural. An organization so secret that even the leaders of the Supernatural World often don't know what they do half the time.

"Now, let's talk about those demons."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier Entry: Blacklight Organization**

**File:**

**The Blacklight Organization was founded in the year 1421 by the now Catholic Saint Jeanne D'Arc. It was founded by her and her siblings as a small hunting party after their town of Domremy-La Pucelle was attacked by a pack of werewolves. The organization's main purpose is to hunt down any and all threats to the livelihood of innocent lives. After Jeanne's death in Rouen, France during the Hundred Years War, the Organization expanded and her siblings split up and founded different chapters across the world. The American Chapter was founded by her sister Catherine D'Arc in 1445 long before the other Europeans arrived on the Eastern Seaboard. Our current leaders are [REDACTED]. The organization's leadership is a council of different department heads that oversee the entire chapter. They are called the Council of Five.**

**Currently, the Blacklight Organization is in an agreement with the Greco-Roman Pantheon. The Titan and Giant Wars that have been fought by the Greco-Romans were given assistance by Blacklight. **

**There are [REDACTED] Blacklight bases across the United States with one at [REDACTED].**

**The organization's involvement in various major conflicts was as follows.**

**The Devil Civil War**

**World Wars I and II**

**The Cold War**

**The American War for Independence**

**The Second Titanomachy and Gigantomachy**

**The organization is also host to various religious and magical artifacts as well as Sacred Gears. The objects are split into various classes ranging from 5 (Safe) to 0 (Possible World Ending Weapon). Currently, the organization's deepest vaults contain the following Class 2 weapons and objects.**

**[REDACTED]**

**Lot's Salt**

**Staff of Moses**

**[REDACTED]**

**[REDACTED]**

**Arodight**

**Dead Sea Scrolls**

**All of these items have been classified as Object Class 2.**

**The creature classification files are in accordance with the Global Power Scale or GPS set forth by the various pantheons of the Supernatural World.**

**File End.**

**Creature File 109: Wendigo**

**Classification: Spirit**

**File: The Wendigo is a spirit from Native American Folklore. They are stated by various folklore to be born from the act of cannibalism during a harsh winter. The Wendigo is characterized by its pale skin and milky eyes possibly suggesting blindness. Its mouth contains two rows of razor-sharp teeth which it uses to bite and tear the flesh of its prey. Its fingers are outfitted with talons capable of tearing through three inches of steel. The muscles of a wendigo are compact allowing for enhanced strength and speed.**

**Prey: Humans**

**Weaknesses: Fire**

**Edits: **

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Further research indicates that the milkiness of a wendigo's eyes does not indicate blindness at all. Evidence has shown that the Wendigo hunts by seeking out heat signature much like some cold-blooded reptiles. However, the Wendigo seeks out heat signatures using infrared vision.**

**Creature File End**

* * *

**Before I get PM's asking me why I put Percy Jackson in here. I thought it fit. My knowledge of the Riordanverse Greek Gods is greater than my knowledge of the real ones. Most of my Greco-Roman knowledge is from 6th Grade, Clash and Wrath of the Titans, the Percy Jackson series, and AP World History. I hope you guys like it. Remember, make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.**


	9. Blacklight

**Pyre: Hey guys, sorry for posting this so late at night. A reminder. The poll for which Gods Eden Squad will face in the Azazel Cup will end when the next chapter is posted so keep those votes coming. Also, please feel free to discuss any theories you have about future chapters. I don't mind. Now on with the show. Okay, Lisa.**

**Lisa: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

[Ddraig talking]

[Ddraig thinking]

{Albion talking}

{Albion thinking}

Mental Communication

"Regular Dialogue"

Attacks/Spells

* * *

**Sioux Falls National Forest, SD, October 25, 2019, 12:03 AM; Current Clock: 6 minutes and 55 seconds til Midnight**

The group walked back silently with their newest member in tow. Eric was an odd man, to say the least. He looked to be in his late twenties to early thirties. From what some of them had heard (Kiba and Rossweisse), Blacklight Operatives were serious, never smiled, and very blunt.

This man in front of them. He shattered that image. Eric was currently drinking his fifth bottle of beer. They were making their way back to the motel they were staying at. Issei finally decided to speak.

"Um, Mr. Marshall, sir. Um, can we talk to you about Blacklight?" Issei slowly asked. He had heard from Kiba and Rossweisse that Blacklight was so secretive they made Area 51 or DARPA look like an open book.

"Oh, sure kid. I'll even take you to the base. But you need sleep. You're still a growing boy after all," Eric said as he laughed and patted Issei's back. His eyes twitched at being called a boy.

"Tomorrow, meet me here in the parking lot," Eric said. He waved them goodnight and crossed the street while the four made a right to the Days Inn Motel. There in the lobby waiting for them were Irina, Mitsuki, Gasper, and Annabeth. The minute Irina saw them, she ran up to Issei and hugged him.

"So, how was your afternoon?" she asked pulling out of the hug.

"It was great. We fought and killed a Wendigo. Rossweisse and I… we… Ummm," Issei said not being able to find the words for his final statement. Irina just kept smiling. He recognized it. It was that sly smile she always gave him before she pulled a fast one on him.

"It's alright Issei. Rossweisse and I talked on the way to Sioux Falls. I know that she loves you and since she never hurt you, I think deserves a chance. I'm fine with sharing you with her so long as she feels the same way," Irina said glancing at Rossweisse.

Rossweisse smiled at her and nodded in return. Irina beamed and began to drag the two to their shared room. Irina had accepted her but Rossweisse always knew that if Irina allowed Issei to make a harem. Irina would be quick to establish herself as the Alpha Female of the harem. Her rank spoke for itself. She was nearly an EX Rank in High Class. She was only an AA Rank High Class much like her king.

"Hey, Irina. A Blacklight Operative met up with us today while we were investigating," Issei told her as they entered the room. Irina looked at them deep in thought before asking.

"What did he say?"

"He wanted to talk about the Demons," Rossweisse replied, sitting down on the bed. Irina sat down next to her and collapsed on the bed.

"He also wanted to meet us tomorrow," Issei told her as he sat on the chair and turned on the TV.

"Where?"

"The parking lot. He's taking us to one of their bases," Issei told her still watching TV.

"I say we do it," Irina said staring at the ceiling.

"What happened at the house?" Rossweisse collapsed next to her.

"Well, we found the energy signatures of two unknown individuals. I'm guessing that they belong to the two people Azrael-sama warned us about. We've also confirmed her and Azazel-sama's theory. Issei, the kid that was almost abducted, he had the nearly the same energy signature as you did," Irina said. Issei stiffened and looked at her.

"So there are more…" he said wetting his lips. If there were more kids, they needed to track them down and offer them protection.

"Let's get some sleep. We don't want to be tired for when Eric meets with us tomorrow," Issei said as he shut off the TV. He changed into sleepwear and walked back. Irina and Rossweisse were wearing nightgowns that hugged their curves. It was slightly see-through allowing Issei to faintly see their underwear. He felt a nose bleed coming on but quickly stifled it. Rossweisse and Irina giggled at his predicament. Issei got into bed and lifted the covers allowing for Irina and Rossweisse to snuggle up next to him. The three quickly fell asleep with the girls relishing in Issei's warmth and lulling themselves to sleep with the beat of Issei's heart.

* * *

**Gremory Estate, October 25, 2019, 1:35 AM**

A scream ripped through the silence of the night. Grayfia ran as fast as she could down the hall to Lily's room. Two days ago, Sirzechs had received an invitation from his parents to stay for the day. He only accepted due to Grayfia's insistence that he had been working too hard.

Lily had been a good girl as she promised. She never made any problems for Grayfia and was a curious girl. She stayed in the library most of the day absorbing the books in the library of both the Lucifer Castle and the Gremory Estate. They were mostly storybooks about the various myths of the world. When she arrived back at their castle, the young six-year-old had made fast friends with her son, Millicas, which made her very happy. Most devil children only befriended her son due to his status as the son of the current Lucifer and the Strongest Queen. She still remembered that day at the park.

**Flashback**

_It had been a day since Lily had arrived to stay with them and she and Millicas quickly became best friends. They ran around and played like any other child. Millicas introduced her to the Oppai Dragon Show which she quickly loved due to her big brother being in it._

_Today, they were at the park because for all her mental fortitude, not even Grayfia could withstand the combined force of her son's and Lily's puppy dog eyes. So here they were, at a well-known park in the capital. The mothers were speaking to Grayfia about her son and she barely paid them any attention knowing they were just trying to get her son into a marriage contract. _

_She heard her son shout her name and Grayfia jumped out of her seat and ran over to where she heard it. There she saw a teary Lily with her arm and hand stretched out and several young devils unconscious on the ground. Millicas was gushing over how cool she was. Lily looked at him and her entire body froze. Her eyes. They were black with only her irises being blue._

"_Wow, Lily, that was really cool. Can you teach me how to do that?" Millicas fired off question after question._

_Lily stopped sniffling and tilted her head. How did she do that? She knew it only happened when she was scared._

"_I don't know how to do it. It only happens when I'm scared…" she muttered. _

_Millicas stopped and walked over to his friend. He hugged her and helped her up. _

_"Well, until you learn how to use it, I'll be waiting," Millicas gave her a grin. Lily's cheeks were dusted in a light pink tint. Lily nodded and her eyes returned to normal. _

"_Millicas, we're friends right?" Lily asked fidgeting with her skirt._

"_Umu! We're best friends!" he said._

_Grayfia clapped her hands getting their attention. She was amused by their dynamic. Millicas tried to play hero whenever Lily was in trouble or being bullied._

"_What happened?" she asked, hands on her hips but the look in her eyes was one of amusement._

"_Kaa-chan! Lily was so cool. These mean kids came over and told me to stop being friends with her because she's a peasant and I told them that she wasn't and that they weren't my friends anymore and then this girl pushed Lily down and tried to kick her but Lily threw her hand forward and her eyes changed color and then all the bullies flew away," Millicas said all in one breath._

_Grayfia smiled and looked down at Lily. She hadn't let go of Millicas' hand. _

"_Are you okay Lily?" she asked her checking her for scratches._

_"Yes, Auntie!" Lily responded brightly. _

"_Let's go home you two," Grayfia grasped their shoulders and formed a transportation circle to teleport them back to Lucifer Castle._

**End Flashback**

As she turned the corner, she saw a woman with short brown hair, violet eyes, and massive breasts. This was Venelana Gremory, mother of Sirzechs Lucifer and Rias Gremory. She too was running to Lily's room. On the day Lily had arrived with them, Venelana had immediately fallen in love with the young girl. When asked whose she was, Grayfia answered that she was an orphan that Issei was now looking after. Venelana nodded sadly and said that Issei and her daughter were doing a good thing. Grayfia moved to correct her but stopped when she felt Sirzechs' hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.

Coming out of her thoughts and arriving at Lily's room, Grayfia opened the door and saw Lily sobbing on the bed hysterically. Grayfia hugged her tightly and began to whisper soothing words in her ear. This was the first time she had had nightmares.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Venelana asked as she sat down next to Grayfia and a crying Lily.

"I *hic* had a nightmare," Lily said between hiccups and sobs.

Grayfia looked down at her and rocked her gently in her arms.

"It's okay. It's just a bad dream," Grayfia said.

"What did you dream about?" Venelana asked her.

Lily grew quiet and her tears began to fall harder.

"I saw a man with yellow eyes. He opened a door with a long gun and all this black smoke came out. After that, everything was on fire. Big Brother was there fighting a big dragon with three heads. Then I woke up," Lily told her.

Grayfia frowned. Perhaps she was suffering from an episode.

"How about I stay here with you tonight?" Venelana offered. Lily nodded gratefully.

"Grayfia, how about you go back to bed. I'll take it from here," her mother-in-law said. Grayfia nodded and left the room reluctantly. She heard Lily giggle and the bedsheets rustle before hearing light snoring.

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 9:15 AM**

The six members of Eden Squad and the two demigods waited in the parking lot for Eric to show up. Suddenly, a truck pulled up in the lot. A white-haired man wearing a red trench coat got out of the car.

"Hey kids," the man waved at them.

"Eric," Issei greeted.

"Get in," he said.

Irina, Rossweisse, Mitsuki, and Annabeth got inside the truck while Issei, Percy, Gasper, and Kiba climbed onto the back. The ride was short and nobody batted an eyelash to a bunch of kids riding in the bed of a pickup truck even though it was illegal. They must do it here a lot if even highway patrol wouldn't even ticket the man. Soon, the ride came to an end at a door that looked like the entrance to an old sewer or a bunker. Eric parked the car and everyone got out. He walked up to the door and knocked three times.

"Hey, Lisa, I know you can fucking see me! Let me in I got the kids boss man wanted to see," Eric said.

A beeping sound rang and the door opened. They entered and walked down the stairs. Inside was a room with a door?

"C' mon, we got to take this elevator down to the main complex," Eric said walking to the door. The rest walked after him and entered the elevator. Eric pressed the lowest button and the doors closed. As they descended, the walls disappeared and they saw a massive underground complex. There was a hangar with planes coming in from the top and various vehicles lining the hangar floor. The elevator stopped and the door opened. They saw someone waiting for them outside. It was a woman with platinum blonde hair with an ahoge and yellow eyes. She wore a black jacket with a black sun logo and held a clipboard.

"C' mon Eric, I don't have all day. Dad said that you were supposed to meet with him an hour ago!" she yelled as she walked down the white hall. The group was hot on her heels.

"Sorry, Lisa. I stopped for a beer on the way," Eric said grinning toothily. Lisa sighed at him. They arrived at a door that lead to a conference room. Inside was a man with blonde hair and a beard waiting for them. He looked amused at Lisa's expression.

"I take it he stopped for a beer," the man said.

She nodded and looked at Eric with a smug smile.

"Leave us. I need to talk to Eric and these kids alone," the man waved at her to leave.

"Of course Director," Lisa said and left. She flipped Eric off who responded with a wink. Her face turned red and she left slamming the door behind her.

The blonde man turned to Eric and began… pouting?

"Why didn't you grab me one?" he said.

"Cornelius, I never forget to bring my drinking buddy one," Eric told him as a small blue cloud formed. Eric reached into it and pulled out a six-pack of Sam Adams Beer.

"Haha, just don't let my daughter see it. She might cut you off," Cornelius told him as he laughed. He grabbed a can and opened it.

"So, you're the kids Lady Azrael told me would be coming over," Cornelius turned to see Issei and the others.

"My name is Cornelius D'Arc. A descendant of Catherine D'Arc. I gotta say. I imagined you to be taller, Red Dragon Emperor," Cornelius told him.

"You're the director of…" Rossweisse began before she was cut off by Cornelius.

"I am the Director of the R&D and Hunting Division of Blacklight," he replied to her.

"Please sit. We have a lot to discuss," he motioned for them to sit down. Issei and the others pulled out chairs and sat. Eric sat at the front with his feet on the table.

"Um. Mr. D'Arc, sir. Do you know anything about the demons that were here?" Kiba asked him.

Cornelius' eyes hardened. Demons. That's why they were here.

He sighed and answered his questions.

"I assume you know that demons attacked Sioux Falls several days ago."

The group nodded at his answer.

"Hmmm. We know who's behind this but we don't know why. I'm sorry but we are just as much in the dark as to why the kidnappings are occurring," Cornelius told them.

"Az-nee had a theory that the demons were hunting kids containing Miasma," Mitsuki spoke up.

Cornelius and Eric grew quiet. Eric stopped drinking his beer and stared at them as if they had just told them that they murdered everyone in the base.

"Kids? Containing Miasma?" Eric asked.

"It would make sense actually," Cornelius pondered. He began to stroke his beard at the thought.

The group looked confused at Cornelius' statement. He turned on the projector and put up a couple of images.

"These are the parents of all the victims so far. Now, you might be thinking that they have nothing in common. All their kids were born at different times and they were all of different faiths and ethnicities," he began to explain.

"However, they all had one thing in common. The mothers either had pregnancy problems that resulted in miscarriages, had a hard time having children, or they were barren, incapable of producing a child," Cornelius continued.

"I hypothesize that all of these mothers made a deal with the demon, Beelzebub, to bless them with the ability to become pregnant. After the babies were born, he must have somehow injected the infants with Miasma. How he did it is beyond even me but now, we have artificial cambion running around or in the hands of Beelzebub for whatever sick plan he has," he finished.

Issei and Mitsuki looked at each other. What did they just here? Did that mean that…

"Um, I have Miasma coursing through me, Mr.D'Arc," Issei told them. Eric and Cornelius looked at him with the impression of a fish out of water.

"Summon it," Cornelius ordered not believing what Issei just said. Issei looked to the others and they shrugged. If he wanted proof, then give him proof.

Issei let out a breath and closed his eyes. A black and green aura surrounded Issei's body and the lights began to flicker. The projector went haywire and the room started to shake. Issei's eyes slowly opened to reveal his black sclera and green irises.

Eric and Cornelius looked at him warily. Eric started to reach for his broadsword when Issei let out another breath and released the state.

"I can only hold that state for one minute so I only use it as a last resort or if I want to try something," Issei told them.

"So that's how you killed that Wendigo last night huh?" Eric asked. Issei nodded and sat back down.

Cornelius stared at Issei intensely. His eyes bore into his very soul as he studied the young man in front of him.

"Young man, you do know that when the demons find out. They will go after you and your family right?" Cornelius asked him. He was curious as to how Issei would handle the situation.

"So? I'll fight. I'll fight to protect my family and the ones I love. I made a promise that I would be there with them to catch a dream," Issei said proudly. Cornelius raised an eyebrow.

"Dream?"

"Yes. To have a family. To live out my days with them in peace," Issei told him. These words earned Issei the older man's respect. Eric was chuckling shaking his head while Cornelius smiled.

"Very well young man. We will offer you our assistance. As of right now, Beelzebub is your greatest threat. His status as a Demon will make him immune to most forms of killing and harming. Most of your deities and leaders won't be able to kill him and the Elder Gods are very wary of his very presence," Cornelius said turning off the projector.

"You need to find a weapon. An Enochian Weapon to be precise," Eric piped up this time.

"But how? Azrael-sama told us that there were no Enochian Forgesmiths alive today on Earth," Irina told them.

Cornelius began to rub his temples. He didn't want to reveal the existence of this weapon to them. They were just kids. They should be worrying about school and dates. Not this.

"There is one Enochian weapon rumored to be able to kill anything in existence. In 1835, a member of Blacklight, the previous head of the R&D Department, Samuel Colt, forged a weapon. A gun. The gun itself was normal but its bullets. They were different. The bullets were forged using his soul to fuel the flames and Enochian Runes to trap the power. Legend has it that he used the gun to seal a Devil's Gate which is a doorway directly to Hell, not the Underworld. We call it the Colt. The gun's whereabouts are lost to time as no one has seen it since its first use 200 or so years ago," Cornelius explained.

Issei and his friends just sat in silence. Beelzebub was very hard to kill. And the only weapon that could kill him, nobody knew where it was.

Cornelius let out a tired sigh. It was 5:45 PM.

"Let's stop for today," he said standing up, "feel free to use the facilities to train or research. Eric here will show you around."

They left the conference room and said goodbye to Cornelius. Eric began his tour of the facilities. Or at least, the ones he was allowed to show them.

"Alright crew! Stay in line as I begin a tour of our marvelous facilities," Eric said to them.

"Dad's letting you do the tour," a familiar female voice called out. Lisa walked up from behind them.

"I'll go with you. Don't want them getting lost or something," she said.

The tour group walked the halls and stopped at a set of double doors with the sign Mess Hall at the top. Eric opened the doors and everyone walked in. It was larger than your average mess hall. Heck, it was as big as the ballroom in the Ars Nova in Lilith. There were vending machines and a buffet with different foods. A grill with a chef cooking while people stood in line could be seen. Round tables were scattered throughout the room and TV's hung off the walls.

"This is the mess hall. It's our very own five-star restaurant with the best chefs around," Eric gestured to the hall in front of them.

"The menu offers more choices than your average school menu but I trust that you'll like the food," Lisa told them. The duo then led them out of the mess hall and to another area. It was a large barren field with a computer near the door.

"This is our training room. It simulates over 100 different environments and allows for mixing and matching. You can also generate enemies and choose what level you want them to be at. The lowest level is one and highest is ten," Lisa punched a few buttons on the keyboard and the entire room rippled before becoming a massive urban warzone. The teens stared in awe. This training field was awesome. Lisa and Eric saw there amazed faces and turned off the simulation. As they walked out, Irina noticed a portrait of a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes with a crest on her head. She wore a blue battle dress and in her hand was a battle standard.

"Hey, Eric, Lisa, who is that?" she pointed at the painting. Eric and Lisa stopped to see who she was pointing at.

"Oh, that's the Founder of Blacklight and Lisa's ancestor, Jeanne D'Arc. That flag in her hand is her famous battle standard, Luminosité Eternelle. Luminosité Eternelle can generate a barrier of pure light that can withstand an attack from a C-Rank Deity Class Being. The sword at her hip is called La Pucelle after the town she was born in. Her epithet is the Crimson Holy Maiden. Her sword is a Holy Sword that generates red flames rumored to burn with the heat of a blue supergiant star by today's standards," Eric explained. Irina and the others stared in awe. This woman was extremely powerful from what Eric explained. To be able to shrug off an attack from a Deity Class.

The teens were then led to another set of double doors. When Lisa opened it, Annabeth started to drool. This was the biggest library she had ever seen. A man with a heron's head wearing a suit was seen at the front desk deep in a book. Next to him was an impossibly high stack.

"Hey Thoth," Lisa greeted. Thoth looked up from his book and saw Lisa and Eric with a group of teenagers behind them.

"Lisa, Eric. I didn't know we accepted high school field trips," Thoth said in amusement. He got up and introduced himself to the teens.

"I am Thoth, the Egyptian God of Wisdom, Writing, and the Moon. Pleased to make you. This is the Grand Library of which I am in charge. You might as well call it my own personal realm of Hyperspace. Disrupt the Grand Library and you'll have a swarm of angry desert elementals after you," Thoth told them. The teens nodded fearfully at the god.

"Alright, I guess we better show you guys the rest then show you to your rooms," Eric pulled them out of the library. The teens were shown the observatory, the hangar, and the dorms.

"This is where you'll be staying. I assume Dragon Boy will be sleeping with Angel Girl and Miss Valkyrie over here. The rest of you pick a room," he said as he and Lisa left them.

"So where do we go from here?" Kiba asked Issei. Issei furrowed his brow. They had completed their mission and then some.

"Let's head back in the morning. I'll call Aneue to tell her that we're heading back tomorrow," Issei replied after a few seconds.

"What about Beelzebub? We can't just let him take the other kids Aniki," Mitsuki told him.

"I know but right now, we don't have any way of tracking the rest of them. Lily and I are the only ones in our custody," Issei told her. The others looked down. This was going to be difficult. Unless they had a way to track them, then Beelzebub would just send demons to come and take them.

"Let's tell Lucifer-sama tomorrow in our report," Rossweisse said. The others agreed and they entered their rooms. Issei laid down on the bed and Irina and Rossweisse laid down next to him.

"Hey, you okay?" Irina asked him as she lifted her head to look at him.

Issei sighed a little.

"I'm just thinking about what Cornelius said. If demons are really going after me, then I need to be ready. To protect you and Rossweisse. All of you," Issei said firmly. He felt a hand touch his face. He saw Rossweisse looking at him.

"You won't be alone in this Issei," she said as she kissed his cheek. Irina did the same before lying back down. The three then fell promptly to sleep.

* * *

**Kuoh Town, 3:45 AM**

A group of men walked out of the bar and began to make their way back to their dorms at Kuoh College Division. Up ahead, they saw someone.

"Hey, isn't that the Akeno girl that Tatsuya is always going on about?" one of them slurred.

"Yeah, hey, I got an idea. Why don't we give her a fun time? Tatsuya doesn't have to know," the other one said. The three others agreed and approached Akeno.

"Heyyy there Akeno-chan. What's a girl like you doing out here in the middle of the night?" the leader said. Akeno looked at him with a sly smile.

"Ara, ara, Onii-san. I was just taking a walk. Enjoying the night air. I'm feeling a bit lonely. Would you all like to come with me? I'll make it worth your while~," she said seductively her hands roaming his chest. The leader gulped and he felt himself go hard at the girl's words.

"Y-yeah of course," he stuttered not expecting this. The three others grinned but one of them felt something off about the situation. Akeno walked with the men who looked ready to ravage her and she led them into an alley. The one who felt something was off really began to get worried.

"Ne, Oniii-saan, shall we get started?" Akeno said walking up to the leader. The leader grabbed her breasts and began to fondle them. She smiled sexily and whispered in his ear, grabbing his hardened member that caused a bulge in his pants.

"Close your eyes and I'll make you feel heaven down there," she said. The leader immediately complied. Suddenly, he felt pain and a warm liquid running down his neck. He opened his eyes and saw Akeno smiling at him only something was different about her. Her eyes. Her fucking eyes. They weren't their normal violet. They were yellow. A sickly shade of yellow.

"Ara, ara, onii-san. It seems you're bleeding from your throat.~" she said as she grabbed his throat to stop him from bleeding out. Akeno looked at the other men who were frozen at the sight of their leader with his throat slit. She stretched her palm forward and the men found themselves being lifted into the air. They began to cry and beg for her to let them go and that they wouldn't tell anyone and blah, blah, blah. Akeno got bored o and black lightning began to arc around her fingers. She fired off blast after blast causing them to scream in pain.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's right! Scream for me!" she laughed maniacally as she fired black bolts of lightning. Finally, she got bored and snapped her fingers. The men exploded in a shower of blood. The leader, who Akeno had been keeping alive barely, watched as his friends exploded.

"You… bitch," he gurgled. Akeno looked back at him with those same malicious yellow eyes. She formed a black cloud and pulled a chalice out of it. Akeno put the chalice under his throat and let him bleed out into the chalice.

"_Tire quiero patem me a di,_" she chanted. The chalice filled with blood glowed and a whispered voices came out.

"I want you two to infiltrate the Azazel Cup," Akeno ordered.

The blood bubbled and glowed and a whisper came out.

"It shall be done Lord Beelzebub," the cup responded.

Ake- no, Beelzebub smiled as he cut the link. He looked at the corpse of the boy he had just killed. A pitch black flame appeared in his palm and incinerated the corpse. He snapped his fingers and all the blood on his clothes disappeared. He teleported back to Hyoudou Manor and appeared in front of the door. Akeno's eyes flickered before becoming purple again.

"Eh? Wha-? Why am I outside in my uniform?" she wondered. This had been happening for a few nights now. She wasn't a sleepwalker so what was going on? Akeno opened the door to the house and went back inside.

* * *

**Blacklight American Chapter Headquarters, October 26, 2019, 9:45 AM**

Issei burped as he happily ate his last filing of bacon. Damn, these chefs could cook. He looked around and saw the others had the same orgasmic bliss on their faces. He could never look at normal food the same way ever again. Suddenly, Irina ran up to one of the chefs and got down on her hands and knees.

"Please, teach how to cook sensei!" Irina begged.

The chef started to back away from the girl. She was honestly unnerved. It was just bacon and eggs. Issei and the others sweatdropped at Irina's actions. The doors opened and Lisa walked in.

"Hey, kids. Here," she said handing Rossweisse a paper.

"Dad says to give it to whoever is in charge," Lisa told her and then saw a begging Irina and a freaked out chef.

"What's with her?" she pointed her thumb at the sight.

"Um, Irina wants to learn how to cook like this," Rossweisse told her. Lisa raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was just bacon and eggs.

"What Rossweisse means to say is that the people who make the food back at our house is can we say… lacking in culinary talent," Mitsuki answered for her as she finished her breakfast. Lisa nodded and just kept looking at the strange sight before them.

It would be another 10 minutes before Irina finally let go as Issei dragged her back to the group by the collar of her shirt. She sat there pouting and grumbling something about kidnapping chefs.

After breakfast, the group made their way outside. Percy and Annabeth stood across from them.

"I guess this is where we part ways," Percy said extending his hand.

"Yeah. See you at the games," Issei replied shaking it.

The two said goodbye to them and a flash of light appeared. Hermes walked up to the two, grabbed them, and teleported back to Olympus.

"Hey, Eric. We'll be back to look for that gun," Issei told him as they began to form magic circles and teleport to Lilith.

"Hey, kid! Wait!" Eric said. Issei and the other stop and saw Eric pulling a folder out of his trench coat.

"Make sure they get that folder," Lisa said to them.

"We will," Irina assured them. They formed their circles and disappeared in a flash of light.

Eric and Lisa stared at where the group stood.

"Interesting kids huh?" he said to her without even looking.

"Yeah. Makes me want to have one of my own if you catch my drift," Lisa said as she began to walk back inside swaying her hips.

"Yes, ma'am," Eric muttered under his breath walking to catch up with her.

* * *

**Lilith, October 26, 2019, 12:15 PM**

Issei and his group arrived in Lilith and began their walk to the capitol building of the Underworld, the Ars Nova. As they walked, the people who passed them all pointed at Issei and some started cheering. Irina looked over and saw Issei looking down avoiding all eye contact with a random citizen. She giggled at the sight of her famous boyfriend hiding from his fans.

Several minutes later, the group found themselves entering the doors of the Ars Nova. Issei walked up to the secretary and greeted her.

"Hi, we're back from a mission from Lucifer-sama. Is he in right now?"

The secretary looked up from her computer and saw Issei. She smiled at him and pointed him to his office.

Issei thanked her before returning to the group and then, they all walked up the stairs to Sirzechs' office. Issei knocked three times.

"Enter," Sirzechs' voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Issei and the others entered into his office. Issei felt a small figure crash into his stomach. He looked down and saw Lily hugging him.

"It was my turn to watch her," Sirzechs said as he stood up and walked over.

"Aneue is out?" Issei asked as he picked Lily up.

"She's picking Millicas up from school. She should be here any minute now."

As if on cue, Grayfia opened the door with Millicas in tow. Millicas saw Issei and waved at him.

"Issei-nii!" Millicas greeted Issei with a cheery tone.

"Hey, buddy. How was school?" Issei asked. He sat down and Lily sat on his lap.

"It was fun. Though, I wish Lily was there. She's great you know. She has these cool powers that lets her use the Force on other people!," he said to Issei.

"Really?" Issei asked. Inwardly, he was going over how to help Lily control her powers. He didn't need her setting an entire city on fire by accident.

"H-hey Millicas…" Lily said shyly. Millicas grinned and waved at her. He grabbed her hand and the two went over to one of the chairs and began to happily talk about their day. Issei smiled at the sight. It was nice seeing Lily playing with other kids her age.

"Ahhhh young love. I remember when I was like that," Irina said, putting her hand to her cheek sighing. Issei kept smiling at the two but on the inside, he was fuming.

_She's too young to date! If he touches her or hurts her, I'm filling him with buckshot. Wait, I don't have a gun. That's it! I'll shove a Dragon Shot up his ass!_, Issei thought.

**[Partner. You're scaring me]**, Ddraig said shaking inside the Boosted Gear.

"_Huh, sorry Ddraig. I was just thinking of something,_" Issei told him. Issei felt someone touch his shoulder. It was Rossweisse. She had a concerned look on her face.

"Issei, is everything okay?" she asked. Issei blinked.

"Yeah, I was just lost in my thoughts," he reassured her.

"Really? Because you had this scary grin on your face, Senpai," Gasper told him.

"Don't worry everything is fine," Issei told them with a smile.

"Alright, if we could get on with the debrief," Sirzechs coughed to get their attention.

"Right," Irina said. Issei began to report the details of their mission.

"We made contact with the Olympians and informed them of our presence in their territory. They sent two demigods to assist us in our investigation, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

Sirzechs and Grayfia were surprised that the Olympians sent those two. Percy Jackson was a AAA Rank High Class on the GPS while Annabeth Chase was a B Rank High Class. They were considered Olympus' strongest demigods both by the Roman and Greek sides.

"Please continue," Sirzechs told Issei.

"We arrived at Sioux Falls and decided to split up. We had heard about the disappearances in the town and thought they were linked to the demons. Irina said that she sensed three Miasma signatures there. Two felt foreign while the other one was similar to mine. With my group, we investigated the National Forest where the disappearances were happening. It turns out it was nothing but a wendigo hunting for prey. We killed the Wendigo so that it wouldn't plague the town any longer. After that, we made contact with Blacklight," Issei continued.

"So, what did Blacklight want or say?" Sirzechs said folding his hands together.

"An operative named Eric brought us to their headquarters and we met with the Chapter Director, Cornelius D'Arc. He told us that they identified the one behind this but not their reasons why. When we proposed Az-nee's theory, he thought about it and responded with his hypothesis. All the mothers had a hard time with childbearing and made a deal with Beelzebub to increase their childbearing potential. At some point in their infant years, Beelzebub injected them with Miasma," Issei finished. Sirzechs and Grayfia just stood there frozen. Deals? The mothers made deals to have their children. That was why they had Miasma inside of them.

"Cornelius sent us a list of all the mothers they had acquired that they knew made deals with demons in the past 20 years," Issei said handing a folder with a Blacklight logo Eric had given him before they left.

"Also, he sent this missive and instructed me that it was for your eyes only," Issei handed him a folded up piece of paper with the Blacklight Logo on it.

"Thank you, Issei. You may go now. Remember, train for the Games," Sirzechs said taking the folder.

"Wait," Issei's voice stopped Sirzechs and Grayfia in their tracks.

"Cornelius said that as we are right now. We can't kill Beelzebub. We need to find an Enochian Weapon," he told them.

"Issei, that would be great but there are no forge smiths. How would we even find one?" Sirzechs told him.

"If I may, Lucifer-sama," Mitsuki interrupted.

"Cornelius-san told us of one weapon still out there. A gun that they refer to as the Colt. Their R&D Head was an Enochian Forge Smith and created a weapon back in 1835. The bullets were forged using the process to create Enochian Weapons," Mitsuki told them. Sirzechs and Grayfia's eyes widened. Such a weapon still existed.

"He said that its location is currently unknown," Irina said. Sirzechs furrowed his brow. No one knew where it was. He would have to pull aside resources to scour the Earth for the gun.

"Sirzechs-nii. I'll search for it," Issei offered, "It'll allow me to train for the Games as well as teach Lily how to use her powers. I'll take Irina and Kiba with me as well for backup."

Sirzechs looked deep in thought as he stared at Issei. Finally sighing and rubbing his temples due to the stress and relevance of the information of a seemingly unkillable enemy, Sirzechs made his decision.

"Alright. I'll let you three go but on one condition. We have a new person and we need you to take her with you. She needs to be reacquainted with the human world and going with you seems like a good opportunity to do so," Sirzechs gestured to Grayfia who nodded and teleported away. Grayfia reappeared with a girl about the same age as Koneko, Gasper, and Ravel. She had violet hair and orange eyes wearing a dress that looked to be woven from the finest silk.

"Issei, everyone, meet Ingvild Leviathan. I believe she will make a fine addition to your little ragtag team," Sirzechs introduced her.

Ingvild smiled at the six and curtsied before introducing herself.

"Greetings, I am Ingvild Leviathan, the descendant of the Original Leviathan. Please take care of me."

"Hi, I'm Issei Hyoudou. The current Red Dragon Emperor," Issei greeted.

"I'm Irina Shidou. A Cherub and the Ace of Michael-sama. Pleased to meet you, Ingvild-san," Irina greeted with a polite smile.

"I'm Kiba Yuuto. Knight of Rias Gremory. It's nice to meet you," Kiba bowed to her.

"I'm Mitsuki Hyoudou. The current wielder of Telos Karma. Pleased to meet you," Mitsuki said.

"I'm Rossweisse. Rook of Rias Gremory. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Rossweisse bowed being unable to curtsy due to her clothes.

"I'm Gasper Vladi. Bishop of Rias Gremory. Nice to meet you," Gasper said.

Ingvild smiled at them in return.

"So, I say she's the final member guys. What do you guys think?" Issei said.

"Hmmm, we'll have to get to know her but other than that I have no problem," Mitsuki said inspecting the Leviathan Descendant.

"I'm fine with her," Rossweisse said. She had no problem with the girl. She hadn't done anything yet.

"I concur with Rossweisse-sensei. Despite being related to Katerea Leviathan, she hasn't done anything wrong that we know of," Kiba said.

"If everyone agrees, then I'm all for it," Gasper chimed in.

They all turned to Irina who kept staring at Ingvild with a blank look. The poor girl started to feel uncomfortable. This woman, Irina, was her only barrier to making new friends ever since her old ones left her due to her abilities.

Irina suddenly smiled and took her hand.

"You've been very lonely, haven't you? Don't worry. I'll be your friend now," Irina told her grasping her hand. She had felt it. Ingvild's loneliness. The poor girl must have lost all of her friends due to her heritage or if she lived in the human world, her powers.

Ingvild teared up and hugged Irina crying. Irina rubbed comforting circles on her back as she held the crying girl. After a few minutes, she stopped crying and looked at the rest.

"Welcome to Eden Squad, Ingvild-san," Issei said beaming at her.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Personnel File 1078**

**Personnel Name: Eric Marshall**

**Codename: Slayer**

**Bio: Graduating at Boise State University, Eric's family was brutally murdered by a nest of Empousa who used them as hostages against a demigod. This propelled him into hunting down beings of supernatural origin that threaten the lives of others. Eric was recruited by Cornelius D'Arc in [REDDACTED] after encountering him taking care of a haunting in Connecticut. Eric has been a member of Blacklight for 14 years and is the current captain of Team Zero Thirty.**

**Height: 6'3 (1.8 m)**

**Weight: 182 lbs (82 kg)**

**GPS Ranking: SS-Rank Ultimate Class**

**Blacklight Ranking: Division Captain**

**Known Partners: Lisa Emrys-D'Arc**

**Family:**

**[REDACTED]**

**Home:**

**[REDACTED]**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Personnel File 945**

**Personnel Name: Lisa Emrys-D'Arc**

**Bio: Born to Cornelius D'Arc and Morgana Emrys, Lisa was groomed to become the next Chapter Head of the American Chapter of Blacklight. She is a natural Holy Sword Wielder being the chosen wielder of her ancestor's sword, La Pucelle. Lisa graduated from California Poly Technical Unversity San Luis Obispo. She officially joined Blacklight in [REDACTED] and is the current head of [REDACTED]. She is [FILE REDACTED]. **

**Height: 5'7 (1.7 m)**

**Weight: [REDACTED]**

**Family:**

**Cornelius D'Arc**

**Relation: Father**

**Morgana D'Arc**

**Relation: Mother**

**Home:**

**[REDACTED]**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Personnel File 756**

**Personnel Name: Cornelius D'Arc**

**Bio: Cornelius was born to [REDACTED]. He is the descendant of Catherine D'Arc and is related to Blacklight Founder, Jeanne D'Arc. Cornelius took charge of the Blacklight American Chapter in 1985 after graduating from Stanford University. Before that, he was the head of the Hunting Department before also being appointed as the Head of R&D after [REDACTED] retired from his post.**

**Height: 6'6 (2 m)**

**Weight: 220 lbs (99.7 kg)**

**Family:**

**[REDACTED]**

**Home:**

**[REDACTED]**

**File End.**

* * *

**I hope you guys liked the chapter. And I especially hope you liked the interaction between Lily and Millicas. So, Akeno's gone batshit insane. Remember, make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.**


	10. The Enochian Weapon

**Pyre: Hello again. I'm sorry for posting really late yesterday. Here's another chapter for you guys. I don't have much to say other than that I mixed up the dates for which the God poll ends. It ends when I post the sign-ups chapter so keep those votes coming. Okay, time to begin.**

**Gasper: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Outback Steakhouse, October 26, 2019, 3:30 PM; Current Clock: 6 minutes and 50 seconds til Midnight**

Ingvild sat there staring at her food as she watched everyone else talk happily to each other. A few hours ago, Sirzechs Lucifer had his wife and Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge, retrieve her from her home and bring her to the Ars Nova. There she had met who Grayfia said would be her new family. Her new family was odd. But what could she say? She had her quirks as well and her new family accepted her.

Right now, Ingvild had changed out of her dress and into a simple white blouse with black pants. She was wearing violet shoes.

"Ingvild, right?" the woman with platinum blonde hair and gold eyes asked her. She nodded.

"My name is Lisa Emrys-D'Arc. Are you fitting in okay with Issei's group?" she asked. Ingvild nodded. She felt someone's hand on her arm. It was Irina. She was giving her a warm smile that said everything would be okay.

"Yeah. It's been a while since I talked with other people," Ingvild said shyly.

"Oh," Irina said as she wiped some food off Lily's mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, tell us more," Lisa pressed.

"Well, I was asleep because I had a disease that made me go into a deep sleep. That was over three hundred years ago…" she trailed off. Ingvild looked up when the table went quiet. Everyone looked at her with a mix of emotions. Sadness and pity chief among them.

"How'd you wake up?" Issei asked her.

Ingvild fidgeted with her fork as she tried to find a way to explain to him.

"Umm, Lord Ajuka says that I have a Longinus Sacred Gear and that when it activated, I woke up," Ingvild told them.

"A Longinus?," Kiba asked her. He was curious as to which one she had.

"It's called Nereid Kyrie. From what I learned, I can control dragons and water. My water abilities are enhanced to the point where they could be on par with that of Serafall Leviathan thanks to my Sacred Gear," Ingvild explained the workings of her Longinus.

"Wow, that is one OP Sacred Gear," Issei whistled at its abilities. The power to control Dragons on top of water. Ingvild would grow to be a very powerful devil some day.

"Surely, there is a limit?" Irina asked her.

"I can't control any dragon much more powerful than I am," she stated.

**[That girl's gear has the potential to go far. Allowing her into the group was a wise decision even if her backstory wasn't enough for your kind soul partner.]** Ddraig told him. Issei nodded inwardly to his draconic partner.

"So what happened after you woke up?" Kiba asked her.

"Lady Serafall helped me catch up on what happened to the world. The Devil Civil War. The War against Lord Rizevim. Everything. Eventually, they let me go to school after teaching me everything in the current standards of education. I went to a school in Oregon. I made some friends and then after that, I decided to reveal who I really was but… they left me. Called me a witch. A freak. Everyone at school started to bully me so Grayfia pulled me out and put me in a school called Kuoh," Ingvild spoke quietly as she looked down.

"It's okay now, Ingvild. You're with us and Eden Squad is a family. We look out for each other. Like in Jungle Book. The strength of the pack is the wolf and the strength of the wolf is the pack," Irina said cheerfully at her.

"Even though we are only a couple of days old as a team, Irina is right. We're family and family looks out for each other," Kiba told her.

"You're one of us now Ingvild. We won't let anyone hurt you," Issei reassured her. The group continued to eat and Eric laughed at the story of the Renaissance that Ingvild had told them. After they finished, they paid the bills and exited the restaurant.

"Hey, could you guys wait for us for a bit?" Issei told them. They looked confused.

"Why kid?" Eric asked him.

"I'm taking Irina with me to go buy us a car," he said.

"Why?" Kiba asked. They had Eric and his truck.

"We can't all fit in Eric's truck and I doubt that the rest of the country would let us ride in the back of his truck so I figured we get a second car to make things easier," Issei reasoned.

Eric looked at him and sighed.

"Alright kid. We'll wait for you two," Eric said. He nodded to Lisa and the others went to a library.

"C' mon Lily," Issei said picking the little girl up and putting her on his shoulders. Lily yelped and smiled from her place on top.

Irina smiled at the sight of them.

_Will this be how it'll be like when Ise-kun and I have our own children_, Irina thought as she looked at the two.

"Hey, Irina!" she looked and saw Issei and Lily several feet away from her waiting.

"Right, I'm coming!" Irina took off and caught up with them. They walked and asked several people for directions to the closest used car dealership. Sirzechs had given Issei a credit card with unlimited funds so he could easily buy the most expensive car but right now, they were in a hurry. As they walked, people smiled at them and waved. The mothers that walked by cooed at Lily and told them that they were a cute couple making Issei and Irina turn red. Finally, they arrived at a car dealership called Malcolm's Used Cars. The lot was lined with several used cars with some models going as far back as the 1960s. A man in his later years walked up to them.

"Something I can help you find?" he asked.

Issei and Irina looked at him. The man was wearing a mechanic's outfit and holding a keyboard.

"Business seems to be slow Mr.. um", Irina tried to make conversation.

"Malcolm. And yes, people don't tend to go to used car lots anymore ever since those big company ones popped up," Mr. Malcolm sighed as he gripped his clipboard.

"I don't see why. You look like you sell some pretty vintage models, Mr. Malcolm," Issei told him. He did like old cars. His parents had owned Dodge Polara for a time and if there was one thing Issei loved to learn about other than boobs and fighting, it was old cars.

"I see you're a man of taste. I'm guessing you're buying a car here for your wife and daughter?" asked them.

Issei and Irina turned red and started stuttering. Lily, who had gotten off of Issei's shoulders and was holding Irina's hand, tilted her head at them. Adults were so confusing.

"S-sir! We're not married!" Irina corrected the man waving her hands wildly.

"R-right! Though someday…" Issei said. Irina looked at him with wide eyes. He wanted to marry her someday!

_Kyaahhhh! Ise-kun wants to marry me!_, Irina thought holding her cheeks and dancing a small dance. Mr. Malcolm smiled at the two. He remembered when he used to be like that.

Lily grew even more confused. Weren't Big Brother and Big Sister Irina already married? They loved each other she knew that much. After all, they did that gross kissy thing Uncle Zechs and Auntie Gray did from time to time. Then there was Rosy. Maybe, he married both of them?

As Lily sat there trying to figure out the puzzle that was Issei's love life, Issei looked around and saw a car he liked.

"Hey, , how about that one?" Issei said pointing to a sleek black car.

The old man turned and saw the car Issei was pointing to.

"Oh, that one. No one's bought that car ever since they sold it to me 25 years ago. I keep it in pristine condition just in case someone wants to buy it," Mr. Malcolm told him.

"Is it safe?" Irina asked as she finally came out of La La Land.

"Yes. The car has fully functional airbags in both the front and passenger seats that I installed myself. I've outfitted the car with a 237 Engine and Four Barrel Carburetor. Much better than its previous engine. This car will get you to where you need to go," Mr. Malcolm gave them his spiel about how the car was right for a couple like them.

After about an hour of thinking and listening to Mr. Malcolm, Issei decided to buy it.

"We'll buy it!" Issei said pulling out his unlimited funding card.

"Eh!? Ise-kun, are you really going to buy it?" Irina asked him in exasperation.

Issei shrugged.

"Why not? I have a good feeling about this car, Rin," Issei used her old nickname.

Irina pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She could never tell who was the more impulsive one between the two. Her or Issei.

"Alright, just come walk into my office and we'll set a price, do some paperwork, and she's yours," Mr. Malcolm said. The three followed the old man into his office where they sat down and went over prices. Finally, they settled on a price of $3,500 and Issei decided to pay for it with his card. used the card's chip and got an approval. He walked over and grabbed a set of keys and tossed it to Issei.

"Congratulations, you're now the proud owner of a 1967 Chevy Impala," he said cheerfully. The three walked out and Issei opened the door to the driver's seat. Irina helped Lily put her seatbelt on and walked to the front passenger seat and sat down. The sun was getting low on the horizon and the three decided to bid Mr. Malcolm a good evening.

"Hey, . Expect a phone call in a few days. My sister's husband is a man with a few connections and he could help you boost your business," Issei told him as he looked at the elderly man from the driver's window.

's eyes widened. This man was funding his business just because he got him a car?

"Of course!" he exclaimed happily. Issei waved him goodbye and pulled out onto the road. They drove to the public library and saw Eric, Lisa, Ingvild, and Kiba waiting for them.

"Woah, nice wheels kid," Eric let out a small whistle when he saw Issei's new car.

"Issei, how much was this?" Kiba asked.

"Thirty-five hundred. It was pretty cheap for such a nice car," Issei said as he got out. He looked to Kiba and Ingvild.

"So, did Eric tell you how we're finding it?" Issei asked them.

"He said that we need to find a man named Isran," Ingvild told him, "He supposedly found out about the legend of the Colt and decided to track it down to quote 'Eliminate the vampires who killed his family'".

Issei and Irina looked to Eric and Lisa.

"Any idea where Isran is?" Irina asked him.

"Nope! That's the fun," Eric said before Lisa smacked him in the back of the head.

"What my idiot fiance means is that we think he's holed up somewhere in Colorado. That was where the last known sighting of Isran was," Lisa clarified.

"How long is it from here to Colorado?" Kiba asked them.

"About 10 hours. Less than that if we're lucky," Eric told them.

"Well then, we better leave so that we beat traffic," Lisa said as she opened the front passenger seat of Eric's pickup.

"Just follow us alright," Eric said as he got in the driver's seat. Issei nodded and Kiba and Ingvild got into the back with Lily, who moved to sit in between them.

"You guys alright back there?" Irina turned to look back at them.

Ingvild gave her a thumbs up while Kiba nodded. Lily just nodded sleepily as she began to doze off. Irina smiled and Issei pulled out and followed Eric onto the highway. He had never driven on a foreign highway before. Back in Japan, Issei just walked since Kuoh and most of the places he went to, he teleported. The last time he drove anywhere was to the beach so driving at such high speeds in a foreign highway was a challenge, to say the least. But somehow, Issei managed to follow Eric and Lisa on the highway. Irina had fallen asleep a few hours ago similar to Kiba and Ingvild. In the rearview mirror, he saw Lily leaning on Ingvild's shoulder snoring lightly. The sun began to rise and he saw Eric take an exit to a rest stop. As he parked the car, Irina's eyes fluttered open.

"Wha-? Are we there already?" Irina asked him groggily. The others noticing they stopped also woke up.

"No, we're at a rest stop so if you need to go to the restroom, now's the time," he said as he got out of the car. Irina unbuckled her belt and exited the car. The two walked hand in hand to the restrooms behind them, Kiba was holding Lily's hand while Ingvild walked next to her. Kiba and Issei entered the Men's Room while Ingvild and Irina led Lily into the Women's Room. After exiting, they saw Eric there standing by his truck.

"How much longer?" Issei asked him.

"A few hours," Eric said as he drank from his flask. He looked and saw Lisa walking back with the other girls.

"Alright, kids! Back on the road," as he said this, everyone got back into their respective vehicles.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 27, 2019, 3:25 PM**

"Guh!" Tatsuya flew back and landed onto the ground. He wiped the blood from his mouth. Mitsuki wasn't pulling her punches. He looked around and saw Eren, Yuu, and Hiruko in similar positions.

Mitsuki sighed. Rias had roped her into helping them since Kiba was away. She accepted for the sole purpose of beating the ever living shit out of the boys.

"Mitsuki-san, aren't you being too hard on them?" Asia asked as she readied Twilight Healing.

"They need to get stronger Asia. Remember if you want to teach someone to swim, throw them in a pool," Mitsuki said. Asia sighed and went over and healed the four boys. They once again got into a stance. Yuu charged first drawing his sword and bringing it down for an overhead slash. Mitsuki caught it between her middle and pointer finger. Yuu tried to pull it out but it wouldn't budge.

Behind her, Hiruko came up and tried to attack her from behind but Mitsuki swung Yuu, who still held his sword, and used him as a club slamming him into Hiruko sending them both flying as she let go of the blade. Eren fired a spell at her but she dodged it. Above her, Tatsuya summoned Gravity Prison and increased the Gravity on Mitsuki. It did not affect her as she jumped towards him and hit him with a roundhouse kick. Eren summoned Fallen Star and shot a plume of blue flames towards Mitsuki.

Mitsuki summoned her wings and weaved out of the flame's trajectory. She created a magic circle and fired a lightning spell at Eren. Eren barely had any time to summon a shield to block it. Hiruko got up and summoned Embrace of the Ice Princess and fired several spikes of Ice at her. Mitsuki blocked it with her forearms.

Yuu got up and his eyes shifted to a yellow color indicating he was using Perfect Vision. He launched towards her and jumped prepared to slice into Mitsuki's arms but she sent out a wave of repulsive air pushing them all away. Tatsuya fell to one knee gasping for air. It had been four hours since they began and they weren't any closer to making the Hyoudou Twin summon her Sacred Gear.

"Well, you guys are improving if making me use Basic Spells counts as improving," Mitsuki landed and unsummoned her wings. She saw Koneko and Xenovia were watching their fight.

"Well, looks like it's Koneko and Xenovia's turn. Have fun you four," she said walking out. They didn't even manage to make her sweat. She then gained an idea.

"I never did show you the full extent of my powers did I?"

The four looked confused. All of a sudden, Mitsuki was covered in a black and violet armor. The air around them grew heavy and the floor of the training field started to crack and shake. Mitsuki was surrounded in a violet aura. The four men were frozen on the spot. This level of power had nothing on Kiba. Suddenly, the pressure lifted and the armor around Mitsuki disappeared.

"You can't even stand 40%," Mitsuki told them with a disapproving look and walked out.

Asia looked at Xenovia and Koneko. She sighed. Rias had insisted on asking Mitsuki for help and despite how many times she had said it was a bad idea, she did it anyway. Mitsuki loved Issei and was very protective of her twin. The thought of training the men who helped break her brother's heart must have been an excuse to just take her frustrations out on them. Asia began to heal the boys.

"Sorry about her," Xenovia said as she walked up to them.

"It's alright. It's helping us get stronger I think," Tatsuya reassured her. Three more people entered the room. It was Rias, Akeno, and Ravel.

"I'm guessing Mitsuki did this?" Rias asked them. The men nodded at her words. Rias pinched the bridge of her nose. She was now regretting Mitsuki do this. She took their training too far and kept saying it was for "progress".

"Alright, you four. It's time to train you in magic," Akeno told them with a smile. Another thing that had been bothering Rias. Akeno. She had been acting strangely. Sneaking out at night. Akeno had stopped of course but still, something was up.

"Alright, time to begin learning High-Level Spells," Rias said as she began to explain to them the various spells she was going to teach them.

Mitsuki walked into the kitchen and grabbed two loaves of bread. She walked over to the pantry and pulled out the Nutella and made herself a sandwich. Walking over to the fridge, she grabbed a box of orange juice and poured herself a glass. She brought her plate over to the living room and saw Rossweisse and Gasper watching a movie. Oceans 11.

"So, how was it?" Rossweisse asked her when she saw Mitsuki sit down on the couch.

"Pretty boring. I can't even get a workout in," she said taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Looking out for the house and demons in Kuoh is pretty boring. But Azrael-sama said that she'll have something for us soon," Rossweisse returned her attention to the TV.

Mitsuki looked deep in thought. Her parents had arrived home a few days ago and asked her where her brother was. She responded that he was out and her parents just cursed and said something about him being an ungrateful son and never being good enough. As she thought of her parents' attitudes to her twin, her blood boiled. While in the past, she had been a bully to her twin, she had matured at the age of 10 and worked with every fiber of her being to rebuild their relationship. Now, she couldn't stand it if people insulted her twin.

A knock brought her out of her thoughts. Gasper got up and answered the door. Vali Team walked in.

"Hey, Mitsuki," Vali said.

"Hey, Vali," she replied with a slight red tint on her face. She saw Kuroka and Bikou making kissy faces behind Vali making her eyebrow twitch.

"Where's Issei?" Vali asked her.

"I dunno. Sirizechs-sama had asked for him and he's been gone for a few days," Mitsuki told him. Vali sighed and shook his head. They had wasted their time coming here.

**{Well, then Final Judgement of God, tell Ddraig's host this. We will look forward to our match during the Games.}**, Albion said to her. She nodded and saw Kuroka walk up to her. She held out a wrapped box.

"Please give this to Ise-kun nya!" Kuroka said bowing to her. Mitsuki leaped up and tried to get her to stop bowing and accepted the box.

"See you at the Games, nya!" Kuroka waved as she and the rest of Vali Team teleported back to the Grigori Headquarters.

"I wonder what's inside?" Mitsuki shook the box. She smelled something. Food? Mitsuki walked over to the fridge and put the box inside.

* * *

**Manning, Colorado, October 27, 2019, 9:00 AM**

They parked outside a library to stretch their legs after a long day of driving. Eric and Lisa walked over to them and told them to split up. Currently, Issei, Irina, Kiba, Ingvild, and Lily were walking down the streets of the town and saw a diner. Feeling hungry, they got some food to go and continued their search.

"Big Brother, why did you bring me?" Lily asked him as she held his hand.

"Well, Aneue told me that you used your powers. So I decided to bring you along to help you control your powers," Issei told her with a smile. Lily's eyes gained stars. Big Brother was going to teach her how to use her powers. Wait, he had the same powers too. She couldn't wait to show Millicas all her new cool powers. She was a little jealous when she saw him use his Power of Destruction but now she has her own powers.

Issei saw her eyes light up in excitement. Now, he decided was a good time to try. They had stopped to take a break at a park.

"Alright, first, I want you to look deep inside yourself. Close your eyes and breathe," he instructed.

Lily did as he told her and closed her eyes. She let out a long deep breath.

"Now, look for something. Anything. A light. A flame. When you find it, grab onto it and pull it out," Lily shut her eyes as tightly as she could. Her brows furrowed in concentration. She felt it. It wasn't a flame like her brother described. It was cold. Freezing. Like the ice Auntie Gray used. She pulled and tugged on it and it responded to her.

Irina, Ingvild and Kiba watched as Issei helped Lily summon her power. Ingvild looked to Irina and Kiba, who was just sitting there, each one of her two sides, smiling.

"I was thinking," Irina said catching their attention.

"We should form our own club!" Irina said.

Kiba and Ingvild looked at each other.

"What sort of club?" she asked.

"A literature club! Or a light music club!" Irina exclaimed.

"A literature club sounds nice but we already have one. I guess Music Club?" Kiba offered. Ingvild looked deep in thought.

"What do we call it?" she asked.

"The Garden of Eden," Irina declared. She began to explain the ins and outs of what they would do. Playing during school festivals and whatnot. Offering music lessons. The works.

Suddenly, a cold feeling blanketed the entire block. The temperature dropped. The grass began to freeze and frost began to form on the window panes. Ingvild let out a breath and it came out as a mist.

Issei watched as Lily's eyes opened. They were black and blue. A black and blue aura surrounded her as ground she sat on turned to ice. Suddenly, as quickly as it appeared, the aura disappeared and Lily fell back panting.

**[Partner, this girl. She's powerful. Look around you.]** Ddraig told him. Issei looked around and his jaw fell open. Everything around them had become frozen. The grass around her turned into ice sculptures. The windows were frozen. Puddles turned to ice. The entire bloc- no the entire city had been affected.

"Did I do it?" she asked as she sat up tiredly.

"Yeah…" Issei said amazed. Lily blinked and looked around her. Everything was frozen. The air was cold.

"Did I do that?" she asked.

Issei nodded.

"Now, you just need to learn how to control it," Issei told her. The next few hours were spent helping Lily control her Miasma. She had managed to summon snow and shoot it out of her palms. Lily could also now lift small objects. Rocks. Sticks. It would be a while before she could lift something as massive as a bench or a person but she made great progress. Lily was a prodigy in the making.

"Big Sister Iri, look at what I can do," Lily said excitedly as she ran towards Irina, Kiba, and Ingvild. Lily opened her palm and summoned snow.

"Wow, Lily," Irina told her. She was amazed. The little girl could already control some of her power.

Ingvild touched the snow. It was cold. She smiled and opened her palm. A small water dragon appeared and leapt onto the girl's hand. Lily gasped. A dragon on her palm. She smiled and giggled as she played with the small creature. Suddenly, the snow in her hand swirled and a dragon made of snow began to play with Ingvild's water dragon.

"I gotta say Issei. You're a good teacher," Ingvild told him.

"Yeah, only two hours and she can already make snow constructs even if they are small," Kiba praised the girl.

A CC appeared in front of Issei.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Lisa's voice sprung from the circle. Issei winced. They must have felt it.

"I was just teaching Lily to control her powers," he said sheepishly.

"That was Lily?"

"Yeah… Why?"

"The entire city's temperature just dropped 30 degrees!"

"I know."

A sigh was heard.

"Well, get over here as fast as you guys can. It seems your little stunt may have flushed someone out."

Lisa cut the link and Issei told the others what Lisa had just told him. They quickly got in the car and drove over to where Lisa and Eric's energy signatures were coming from.

When they arrived, they saw Eric and Lisa arguing with a bald man with dark skin and a beard. He wore dark clothing.

"Look, I know you want to kill the nest that took your wife and son but you can do that without the Colt. So tell us where it is!" Lisa yelled.

"As if I would give it to you. You all dismissed me as a madman when I proposed searching for the weapon!" the man yelled back.

"Well Isran! We need it more because we got a bigger threat to deal with than just a couple of vamps!" Eric told him.

"Like what!" Isran retorted.

"Demons," Issei said as he walked up to them.

"..." Isran went quiet and looked at Issei. After a few seconds, he began to laugh.

"Demons are just a myth! Start with something real kid like those fanged bastards that are in this town. I bet they're behind the sudden chill," Isran dismissed him. This man was starting to get on Issei's nerves.

"That was us," Issei growled out. Isran looked surprised. These kids did it?

"Isran, this is the Red Dragon Emperor and his crew," Lisa gestured to the four teenagers and Lily, who hid behind Irina.

"You brought kids with you!" Isran roared. Lily yelped and hid herself fully behind Irina. Irina turned around and picked her up.

"Look, the Red Dragon and that girl are artificial Cambion. We need to find the Colt because we have proof that Beelzebub is behind this!" Eric told him.

"Even if I had the gun, which I don't, why would I even give it to you!?" Isran asked him hotly.

"Because you owe us a favor, give us the gun and we'll help you wipe this nest out," Lisa told him.

Isran sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Fine, I'll give you the gun. You just have to help me get it first. The nest that killed my family. They have it. If you can help me wipe this nest off the face of the Earth, the gun is yours," Isran conceded.

"Deal," he held his hand out to Lisa.

"Deal," she shook it.

"Sorry about how I acted kid," Isran walked over to Lily and Irina. Lily looked at him and nodded.

"So, Red Dragon, was it you who made the city drop into the Ice Age?" Isran turned to ask the teen. Issei shook his head and nodded to Lily.

"Her?" Isran said in disbelief. Lily opened her palm and snow came flying out of it into the air.

"Amazing," Isran said.

"Isran, where is this nest?" Eric asked.

"It's a few miles outside of town. I know someone who can look after the girl while we go clear it out," he said.

"No worries," Issei said as he formed a CC.

"Yes?" a female voice came from the circle.

"Aneue," Issei said.

"Issei, what is it?" Grayfia asked.

"Could you look after Lily for a few hours?"

"Sure why?"

"We need to go somewhere dangerous and I don't want her to get hurt."

"Alright." Grayfia cut the link and Issei and the others waited. A few minutes passed and a circle with the Lucifer Crest appeared. Grayfia stepped out and Lily ran over and hugged her.

"Lily, we'll be back in a few hours okay?" Issei looked down at her. She nodded and Grayfia teleported them to Kuoh.

"Alright, let's go take care of that nest!" Issei said with a grin.

* * *

**Colorado, USA, 8:45 PM**

"Why did we wait so long just to ambush them?" Issei whispered. They had been staking out an abandoned farm for a few hours. Two cars had left carrying a group of people with pale skin and dark leather clothing. The signature on them was unmistakable. Vampires.

"Because I want them to be awake when we wipe the nest out," Isran said to him.

Two cars pulled up to the barn and several people got out. Some of them were dragging people into the Barn.

"Alright people! We got ourselves a feast!" the one Issei and the others assumed was the leader shouted, raising an old revolver into the air.

"No way…" Lisa gasped.

"What is it, Lisa?" Ingvild asked her.

"The Colt. It's real," she answered. The four teens grew wide-eyed and looked at the revolver the leader was holding. The vampires dragged their prey inside the barn and shut the door.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Irina asked as she drew Hauteclaire.

"They have hostages so Eric, Lisa, Red Dragon, and I will lure most of them out," Isran said.

"You, Leviathan, and Blondie go in and eliminate any stragglers and rescue the hostages," Isran said. The rest nodded at him and split off into their respective groups.

* * *

Isran, Eric, Lisa, and Issei all walked down to the driveway of the barn. Isran told them to lead the vampires outside and into an ambush in the woods. Issei and Lisa were in charge of bringing them out. So far, there were no guards. The cars were parked in front of the barn and they could hear screaming and sobbing coming from inside. The screams made Issei's blood boil. These monsters needed to be stopped.

"Issei, can you use telekinesis?" Lisa asked him.

"Yeah, why?" he replied.

"Throw that car. It'll be a good distraction," she told him.

Issei focused and his eyes changed color. He concentrated on the car and he lifted it. It was much heavier than he thought it would be. Issei swung his arm and the car flew and crashed into the field exploding. The barn door swung open.

"They're over there!" a vampire yelled. A group of them came running out at them. Issei and Lisa got up and ran. The vampires gave chase and followed them into the woods. The vampires stopped to sniff the air. Suddenly, a large hammer came flying and caved in one of their faces killing them instantly. Isran walked out with his hammer glowing with light.

Eric hopped down from a branch and drew his broadsword, Punisher.

The vampires all grouped and saw Issei and Lisa walk out. Issei had Boosted Gear summoned and Lisa had brandished La Pucelle. The vampires all roared and charged the four.

Isran let out a battle cry and charged followed by Eric, Lisa, and Issei.

* * *

Irina, Kiba, and Ingvild landed on the roof of the barn. Irina nodded to Ingvild who formed a saw blade made of water and cut through the roof. They spread their wings and floated down. There were only five vampires inside. She saw one of them admiring a revolver.

"You think the boss will get mad if I fire a couple of shots?" she asked.

"Yeah, he would. There are only 6 bullets left in that thing," the male vampire replied.

"C'mon! Let's just rip into their throats already!" another female said as she licked a teenage girl's face.

Irina looked at Kiba and Ingvild and held up three fingers and began to count down.

_Three_

The vampire opened her mouth and began to inch closer to the girl's throat.

_Two_

The teenage boy had woken up to see his friend and began to struggle. The other four held him down and brought his face up to make him watch.

_One_

Irina threw a light spear and it sailed directly into one of the vampires' heads impaling him to a wall. The remaining four hissed and turned around. Kiba slashed his swords and disemboweling two of them. One of the remaining two grabbed the Colt and prepared to fire only for a water tentacle to wrap around his arm and ripped it off. The Colt flew in the air and was caught by Ingvild using another water tentacle.

Irina thrust Hauteclaire into the remaining vampire's throat and bifurcated her causing the vampire's intestines, stomach, and liver to spill all over the floor. Irina swung her sword splattering all the blood onto the barn floor.

"I have the gun!" Ingvild said smiling.

"Alright, let's go help them out!" Irina said causing the other two to nod and they ran out to Issei's location.

* * *

Issei threw a punch with his gauntlet covered fist driving it straight through the vampire's chest killing him instantly. Another one tried to attack him from behind but was decapitated by Lisa who then stabbed another vampire with La Pucelle. She twisted the sword causing the vampire to scream in agony as she ignited it causing his body to burn to nothingness. Not even ash.

Isran swung his hammer immediately crushing another vampire's skull causing it to pop like a balloon. A bloody balloon. Brain matter and skull fragments flew everywhere. A vampire lunged at Isran to attack his exposed back but Eric appeared in front of it thrusting Punisher forward impaling the vampire in the waist. She struggled to get the blade out of her body. Eric smirked and swung Punisher bisecting her. Eric saw that the vampire was still alive and stomped on the head crushing it like a grape under his heel.

The leader watched as his nest was being slaughtered and soon it was just him. He lunged to Issei who had his back turned but a shot rang out. Issei turned around and punched him in the face, sending him crashing through several trees.

Irina, Kiba, and Ingvild arrived to see them covered in blood and corpses littering the forest floor. She saw Issei punch the leader sending him flying into the woods.

"We have it," Ingvild said as she handed Issei the gun.

"We held up our end of the bargain Isran," Lisa said as she swung La Pucelle to get the blood off. Eric nodded as he sheathed Punisher.

"I guess you have," Isran said setting his hammer down. Suddenly, the leader running out of the shrubbery towards Isran fangs and claws bared. Isran didn't have time to react as the leader neared him. Isran closed his eyes and waited for the end.

A shot rang out. Isran opened them and saw the leader wide-eyed. There was a bullet hole in his forehead. The bullet crackled with electricity as the leader spasmed and flickered blue before collapsing onto the floor dead.

"So it does work," Issei said looking at the gun's smoking barrel. The others sweatdropped.

Isran got out of his truck after loading the two shaken teens into the back. He walked over to Issei who still held the gun and was talking to his friends.

"Hey kid," Isran said. Issei stopped talking to his friends and they looked up at him.

"You saved me back there. Thanks," he said. Issei smiled and extended his hand. Isran smiled back and shook it.

"What will you do now? You avenged your family," Irina asked him. Isran began to think. What would he do?

"I'll probably go back to Blacklight. If they'll still have me," he said.

"Have you? The base would be boring without you old man!" Eric said walking up to Isran and clasping his shoulder.

"Welcome back, Isran," Lisa walked up next to Eric and gave him a warm smile. Isran gave a smile in return.

"What about you kids?" Eric asked.

"Sign-ups for the Azazel Cup is next week so we need to get back. We also can't keep missing school," Issei told them. Irina and Kiba nodded. Ingvild looked nervous.

"See ya around kid," Isran bade them farewell as he got in his truck and drove off. Eric and Lisa bade them goodbye as well.

"See you at the Games kid. We'll be watching," Eric said as he got in the truck.

"Issei, be careful," Lisa told him as she got in the passenger's side. With that, the two drove off back to the Blacklight Base.

"C' mon guys. Let's head home," Issei said as he formed a massive magic circle to include the car. In a flash of light, they disappeared.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor**

The group arrived in front of the house and Issei turned the car on and told them that he would meet them at the front door. Issei drove it to the garage and parked the car inside. He walked to the front door where he saw Irina, Kiba, Ingvild, his sister, Rossweisse, and Gasper were waiting. As soon as he arrived, Issei was immediately tackled by Lily. Rossweisse followed her and wrapped her arms around Issei's neck and gave him a deep kiss. Lily squeezed out from between them and gagged causing the others to laugh. Sirzechs and Grayfia walked out with Millicas in tow.

"I hope she didn't cause you trouble, Grayfia-nee," Issei said.

"No, no, she was a sweetheart," Grayfia waved off his concern.

"I see her powers have been developing nicely," Sirzechs commented. Lily puffed up with pride. They walked into the house and Grayfia brought out some food. They all sat around the couch and talked with Lily showing Millicas her new powers as she made several snow angels and lifted some books over the table.

The door opened and brought them all out of their conversations. Issei got up and turned to see whoever it was. His eyes lost all their emotions. Rias and the girls stood there with their boyfriends staring at Issei. Irina stood up and put a hand on Issei's shoulder.

Rias, who had a few tears coming down her face, took a small step forward.

"Issei?"

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 256**

**Creature Name: Vampire**

**Type: Humanoid Cryptid**

**File: Vampires are beings who feast on the blood of humans. Vampires typically hunt in packs and often use their fair appearances against their prey. For example, male prey would be brought in by a female vampire and female prey would be brought in by a male vampire. There are many major vampire families across the globe with some of the famous ones being the Tepes House, the Vladi House, the Shuzen House, the Dracula House, and the Carmilla House. While the exact origin of Vampires is unknown, some have speculated that they were created as the revenge of some mad deity who punished a mortal for not worshipping them cursing them to sustain themselves on blood for the rest of time. **

**GPS Ranking: B-Rank Low Class to S Rank Ultimate Class**

**Weaknesses: Sunlight, Fire, Decapitation, Silver Weapons**

**Edits:**

**Eric Marshall: These low-level fuckers are really easy to kill. Just destroy the head and your golden.**

**Isran McConnell: Shut Eric. You have to kill them properly. I prefer using fire.**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Shut up, you two!**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Let me take this time to explain where everyone fits on the ranking. Issei's current rank is with him at full power using Dragon Deification and what not. So here is the full scope of Issei's power on the GPS.**

**Base Issei: SS-Rank High Class**

**Base Issei + Boosted Gear= SSS Rank High Class**

**Special Child Issei= B Rank Ultimate Class**

**Balance Breaker Issei= CCC Rank Ultimate Class**

**Lunar Cardinal Mode Issei (Balance Breaker + Special Child Powers) = SSS to EX- Rank Ultimate Class**

**Diabolos Dragon Mode Issei = CC Rank Deity Class**

**Abyss Dragon Drive Issei (Diabolos Dragon + Special Child) = BBB Rank Deity Class**

**The others would go as follows.**

**Low Class= Humans, Reincarnated Angels, and Devils, Weak Spirits, etc.**

**Mid Class= Asia, Kunou**

**D Rank High Class= Ravel and Koneko**

**C Rank High Class= Rossweisse (CC Rank), Base Kiba (C Rank), Gasper, Base Irina (CCC Rank)**

**B Rank High Class=Base Akeno (BBB Rank)**

**A Rank High Class= Rias (AA Rank), Sona (AA Rank), Riser**

**S Rank High Class= Cherub Irina (SSS Rank), Base Issei (SS Rank), Base Mitsuki (SS Rank), Base Vali (SS Rank), Base Sairaorg (SS Rank), Base Kuroka (S Rank)**

**EX Rank High Class= N/A**

**D Rank Ultimate Class= Ruval Phenex**

**C Rank Ultimate Class= Balance Breaker Issei (CCC Rank), Balance Breaker Vali (CCC Rank), Senjutsu Kuroka (C Rank), Balance Breaker Sairaorg (CC Rank), ****Caliburn Arthur (CC Rank)**

**B Rank Ultimate Class=Griselda Quarta**

**A Rank Ultimate Class=Dulio Gesaldo, Base Tannin, Base Dragon Kings, Base Yasaka**

**S Rank Ultimate Class=Risa (SSS Rank), Lunar Cardinal Mode Issei (SSS Rank), Grayfia Lucifuge (SSS Rank), Serafall Leviathan (SSS Rank), Falbium Asmodeus (SSS Rank), Katerea Leviathan (S Rank), Shalba Beelzebub (SS Class), Creurserey Asmodeus (S Class)**

**EX Rank Ultimate Class= Lunar Cardinal Mode Issei (EX- Rank)**

**D Rank Deity Class= Full Power Dragon Kings, Minor Gods, Full Power Yasaka**

**C Rank Deity Class=Most Gods (i.e Athena, Artemis), Ten Seraphs, Diabolos Dragon Issei (CC Rank)**

**B Rank Deity Class= Sirzechs Lucifer (BB Rank), Rizevim (B Rank), Chief Gods (i.e Zeus, Amaterasu, etc.) (BBB Rank), The Six Archangels (BBB Rank), Abyss Dragon Drive Issei (BBB Rank)**

**A Rank Deity Class=Heavenly Dragons (AAA Rank), Crom Cruach (AAA Rank)**

**S Rank Deity Class=Beelzebub (SS Deity Class)**

**EX Rank Deity Class=Shiva (EX- Rank), Amatsu Mikaboshi (EX- Rank), Chaos (EX- Rank), Parvati (EX- Rank), Ophis (EX++ Rank), Great Red (EX++ Rank), Trihexa (EX++ Rank)**

**Azrael= Rank Unknown**

**Well that's that. And yes, Issei has that car now and before you ask why in this story, teleportation doesn't work if you haven't been there so yeah. Have a great day or not. The choice is yours.**


	11. Lament of a Dragon King and Sign-Ups

**Pyre: Hey guys! How was your day? Now for the winners of the God Poll! Please congratulate: Thor, Artemis, Set, Kali, and Verethranga! Please give them all a round of applause. Now Magala read the disclaimer.**

**Magala: I can't see...**

**Pyre: Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Tiamat!**

**Tiamat: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 28, 2019, 12:45 AM; Current Clock: 6 minutes and 47 seconds til Midnight**

"Issei…" Rias took a small step forward to Issei. Issei just stared blankly at her. Irina saw this and stood in front of him holding her arm out.

"Irina, step aside," Rias said gritting her teeth. A red aura began to surround her and the pressure started to increase. Everyone tensed up and watched the two face off against each other. Irina's eyes narrowed and her eyes began to glow violet. Her entire body began to glow and a shadow of her ten wings appeared.

"Irina," Issei said putting a hand on her shoulder. Irina looked at him and he pointed to Lily and Millicas who were hiding behind Grayfia. Irina powered down and the light and wing shadows disappeared. Everyone in the room sighed in relief. Issei had just saved the entire house from being destroyed.

As Issei began to walk up the stairs, Rias grabbed his arm.

"Wait! Issei, I need to talk to you!," Rias begged. Issei began to mutter something.

"...lease let..o" Issei mumbled.

"Hmmm? Issei?" Rias asked. Issei wrenched his arm from Rias's grasp.

"Please don't touch me Gremory-sama," Issei continued on his way up the stairs. Rias would have none of it. As she reached out to grab his arm again, Issei turned around and Rias was launched by an unseen force and pinned to a chair.

Rias looked up at Issei's eyes. They were not the warm eyes she had fallen in love with. His eyes had no emotion and were pitch black with only his irises having color. His irises were an emerald green.

"Hey, don't do that to her!" Tatsuya yelled as he charged Issei. He summoned Gravity Prison and prepared to use it on him when he felt his arm being grabbed. He looked to see Issei looking at him with his black eyes, hand held out in a grasping position. Issei turned his hand clockwise 90 degrees and a horrible snapping sound was heard. Tatsuya fell to his knees screaming. His forearm was bent in a terrible angle. Issei pointed his middle and index finger to Tatsuya and he was sent flying across the room and crashed through the door out into the front. The other boys cowered at the sight of Tatsuya being beaten so easily.

_How strong is this guy!? All he did was move his hand and point and Tatsuya was done for!?, _the boys all thought.

Issei saw them frozen and shaking in fear. None of the remaining boys would dare attack him.

"Who's next?" he said in a calm, cold voice. They shook their heads no frantically.

"Wise choice."

Issei's eyes returned to normal and he disappeared up the stairs. The door to his room could be heard closing. Rias finally found herself able to move. She made her way to the stairs when she felt someone grab her. It was her brother. He had an unreadable look on his face.

"Rias, don't bother Issei for the rest of the night. Irina take Lily and go check on him," he ordered. Rias finally noticed the small red-headed girl with big blue eyes looking at her. Irina walked over and picked her up and made their way up the stairs to Issei's room.

"Onii-sama you have to let m-"

"No! You will not bother Issei do you understand me Heiress Gremory!" Sirzechs ordered her. Rias's eyes grew wide. Her brother never spoke to her like that. Sirzechs looked at the other girls who were standing in the hall.

"That goes to the rest of you," he said. Grayfia glared venomously at them and turned her glare to Rias.

"You disgust me," Grayfia spat. The two grabbed Millicas and teleported back to their home in Lilith.

Rias looked to Kiba and Rossweisse for support. They looked away from her and left the room. She turned to Gasper who ignored her and disappeared into his box. Mitsuki walked over and slapped her in the face.

"Don't you ever talk to my brother ever again!"

She looked at the other girls and fixed them a glare. After that, Mitsuki left the room followed by Ingvild who looked at them with an appraising look.

Rias just sat there with tears streaming down her face. The other girls weren't any better. Issei wouldn't even look at her. He attacked her! And worst of all, he wouldn't even say her name anymore. Rias was no longer Rias to Issei. Rias was just Gremory-sama now.

* * *

"Issei! Please open the door!" Irina kept knocking. She sighed and saw Mitsuki, Rossweisse, Kiba, and Ingvild standing there. Ingvild looked confused.

"Hey, um, I know it's not my place but what happened to Issei?" she asked. The others looked at her and remembered that they never told her.

"Lily, keep knocking until your brother opens the door," Irina told Lily. She nodded and pounded her small fists on the door asking for Issei to open it.

Irina led them to a living room on the second floor. They sat down on the chairs and saw Gasper walking towards them. He sat down as well.

"Those girls you saw. They were Issei's girlfriends," Irina said.

"Girlfriends? As in all at once?" Ingvild asked her.

"Yes, they were all part of Issei's harem just like Rossweisse and I are," Irina told her.

"I see. What did they do?" Ingvild asked. They stopped when the door opened. Issei walked towards them carrying Lily, who looked worried at her big brother.

"They cheated on me with other men," Issei said emotionlessly as he sat down. Lily sat down on his lap and looked at him. Issei looked at her and smiled a little.

"Yes, they cheated on him because they felt insecure in their relationship with him," Irina confirmed. Issei raised an eyebrow at the last part of her statement.

"What do you mean they felt insecure?" Issei asked her. Irina looked at him sadly and sighed.

"Issei, they felt that they needed to see if they actually loved you. They wanted to take a break and reflect upon their feelings for you. Whether or not they were genuine or just puppy love from our days fighting Qlippoth and Khaos Brigade," she explained.

"If they wanted a break, I would have said yes. I would've been upset yes but I would've understood. If it was for the betterment of our relationship, I would have done it," Issei said to her. Did the girls not trust him? He felt himself breaking down again. Issei felt Irina brush her hand across his cheek. He looked up and saw her wiping the tears off of his face. Lily looked at him sadly as well. She hugged him with as much strength as her little frame could muster.

Issei rubbed the top of her head. Lily smiled up at him. Now wasn't the time to be depressed. The sign-ups were in two weeks and they still needed to train. He looked over to the others and saw them looking at him worryingly. Issei stood up and composed himself. He smiled at them.

"I won't let this get to me. I made a vow to become a new person! Eden Squad is a new start for us. I won't be dragged down by this," Issei said with utmost resolve. The others looked at each other and smiled. Lily yawned and the others looked at her.

"Let me put her to bed guys," Issei picked Lily up and made his way back to his room. He set her down on his bed and tucked her in. He was about to get up to leave when he heard her say.

"Wuv you, Big Brother," she muttered in her sleep.

"I love you too, Lily," Issei smiled warmly at her sleeping form. He left and made his way back to the others.

"So what now?" Ingvild asked.

"Now, we continue with our lives and train for the games. We need to beat Rias and everyone else," Issei said.

"Hmmm, we would need to find a place to train though," Irina said.

"We could ask Sirzechs-sama for a place to train," Kiba said.

"That sounds like a good idea. Mii-chan, I'll ask Seekvaira if I could borrow you. For now, we need to maintain anonymity. Everyone thinks we're still fighting in our respective peerages except for Azazel, the Four Satans, and the Five Archangels," Issei said.

"All right. I'll keep up my training," Kiba said. Everyone agreed with him. Issei looked at the clock. It was getting late and they still had class tomorrow.

"Ne, I was thinking about making a club for us. Like the other peerages in the school," Irina proposed. Issei, Mitsuki, Gasper, and Rossweisse looked at her blinked. It wasn't a bad idea.

"What kind of club would we be?" Mitsuki asked.

"A music club!" Irina said with one finger raised. She eye-smiled.

"A music club huh?" Issei said considering it.

"Eh!? Aniki, you're actually considering it?" she looked to her twin.

"Yeah, we disguise ourselves as the school band," Issei told her.

"I agree with Irina-senpai," Gasper said to the twins. Issei smiled and nodded. He looked to the rest. Kiba gave him a thumbs up and Ingvild smiled and nodded. Issei turned to Rossweisse who looked on with approval.

"Well, Mii-chan. Looks like you got outvoted," Issei said cheekily.

"I never said nay, Aniki," she said dryly to her twin.

"Throw my hat into that ring," Mitsuki told them.

"What's our club name?" Rossweisse asked Irina.

Irina smirked and told them the name.

"The Garden of Eden."

* * *

**Lucifer Castle Training Grounds, November 5, 2019, 9:45 AM**

The ground exploded and Issei and Mitsuki flew at extreme speeds across the entire field. They clashed in mid-air creating shockwaves that kicked up dust across the entire field. They flew apart from each other and hovered in mid-air. Mitsuki had Telos Karma around her forearms. Issei had Boosted Gear active.

"Well, Aniki, what is it now? 80 to 79 your win? Time to tip the scales back to me. **Weighted Scales Balance Breaker!**," Mitsuki yelled.

"Oh? We're kicking it up now huh?" Issei grinned as his sister was covered in the telltale black and violet armor of Telos Karma.

**[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker]**, Issei was surrounded in a crimson glow and the scarlet armor of Boosted Gear covered his entire body.

Issei and Mitsuki charged each other and their fists collided. The shockwave produced was so intense that it tore apart the ground of the training ground. The two traded blows with each other and Issei landed a right hook on Mitsuki's face sending her crashing into the ground.

The dust cleared and saw Mitsuki holding a blue sphere between her palms. The sphere grew in size and she prepared to throw it.

"**Positive Karma Sphere!**" Mitsuki launched the ball at her brother.

Issei formed a red sphere of energy at the tip of his index finger.

**[Dragon Shot!]**, Issei roared as he fired the energy beam.

The two attacks collided in mid-air and clashed for dominance. The ground shook and the sky darkened due to the intensity of the light. The two attacks exploded creating a massive explosion that shook the entire Lucifer Estate.

The light died down and Mitsuki and Issei continued to trade blows in mid-air. They cocked their fists back and hit each other in the face at the same time causing them to fly away from each other. Issei caught himself in midair panting. Mitsuki landed on the ground on her feet panting as well.

They had been at it for hours on this. Sparring. Mitsuki was nearly as strong as him and Vali and she wanted to become stronger. Mitsuki charged at her brother again and sent a flying kick to his face. Issei caught her foot and threw her across the field sending her crashing into the barrier.

**[Boost x5]**

Issei blurred out of existence and appeared above her and prepared to bring his foot down on her torso.

"**Alter!**" Mitsuki flickered for a second before Issei's foot landed on her torso causing her to explode into a fragment of lights. Mitsuki flickered back into existence behind Issei and sent a kick to his back, sending him crashing into the ground.

**[Dragon Shot]** a voice announced from the dust cloud. A beam of red energy crashed into Mitsuki sending her sprawling out onto the ground. The Balance Breaker Armor of Telos Karma disappeared and Mitsuki lay there breathing heavily.

Issei released his Balance Breaker and fell to one knee.

"My…hah...win!" Issei said between pants.

Mitsuki just groaned and sent him a thumbs up. Issei helped her up and walked her to the castle grounds. There he saw Lily and Millicas practicing magic. Millicas was forming small balls of energy from magic circles and Lily sitting forming small birds made of snow. Grayfia was standing above them watching their progress. Lily had grown in leaps and bounds in her power usage. She was now able to lift rocks the size of a person and can push other people back. Issei had volunteered to be her telekinesis dummy and he reassured her that he would be fine. After saying those words, Issei was promptly launched several feet and embedded into the wall. In addition to that, Lily could form solid ice. Ice Spikes. Ice Blades. Ice Cubes.

The best part about training was coming up with combination attacks. There was one for everyone. For example, Issei and Irina's combo move was called **Heaven and Hell**. Irina would form a fairly large light spear and Issei would ignite it with his black flames. The attack had the bonus of armor piercing and enhanced attack power on top of the flame's ability to very quickly burn its target to ash.

Currently, he had Irina, Kiba, Rossweisse, Mitsuki, and Ingvild. Gasper had offered to stay and spy on the Gremory Peerage and so far, he reported that Rias had increased the boys' training.

"Big Brother!" Issei looked up the see Lily flying towards him. Like Issei, her wings were made of a dark energy substance. A week ago, Issei taught her how to fly by having her jump off of the second floor and releasing her wings. He caught her of course. Issei wasn't going to let a six-year-old jump from a second story window without catching her. Eventually, she managed to summon them and made it her mission to fly everywhere. Well, nearly everywhere. Issei had told her never to fly in public.

"Ah, Ise-kun," Irina walked over to him. She had just arrived from her training with Raphael and Gabriel. Her hair was down today making her look every bit like the angelic princess he thought her as.

A flash of light appeared and Rossweisse, Kiba, and Ingvild walked out. Ingvild had grown closer to the group in a week. At Kuoh, she had quickly been accepted as another Great Lady much to her embarrassment. Irina had been quick to shoot down every attempt the Perverted Duo, formerly Trio, made to peep on her. Their request for a club had also been granted and Azrael agreed to be their advisor since Rossweisse was already the advisor for the ORC. The Garden Of Eden quickly became more than a music club and became somewhat of a jazz bar at the school where students from college to elementary came to relax after a hard day.

"Issei, are you ready to head into the Familiar Forest?" Irina asked him. Two days ago, Issei had decided to get a familiar for himself as it was long overdue. Irina, who didn't have one, decided to go with him. Issei nodded.

"We'll meet you guys at Lucifaad!" Issei said as he and Irina disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

**Familiar Forest, 11:30 AM**

Normally, the Familiar Master would not allow people in during the day but Sirzechs made him let them in for a special occasion. The bonus was that his guest was the Red Dragon Emperor. A flash of red light indicated that they had arrived and Zatouji led them into the forest.

"Aww, this one looks cute!" Irina said as she picked up a small black bird with three legs.

"That's a Yatagarasu, ojou-chan. They're supposedly the Sacred Bird of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. They never bond to humans or anyone else. You must really be something," Zatouji praised. Irina immediately formed a contract with the small bird and named her Hikari.

"Irina, I'll go deeper in. You guys just wait for me here," Issei told her. She nodded and he walked to the deeper part of the forest.

Issei kept looking around. None of the familiars felt right to him. Issei saw something shiny and bent down to pick it up. It was a sapphire.

_Maybe Irina or Rossweisse will like it_, Issei thought as he pocketed the gem.

All of a sudden, a massive jet black dragon with curved horns and seemingly no eyes landed in front of him. Its wings were massive and Issei estimated its wingspan to at least ten meters. Its body was covered in purple-tinted exoskeletal plates and its wings possessed claws and an opposable thumb. The dragon sniffed Issei and growled.

**[Partner, that dragon is called Gore Magala. She was a member of the brood I was part of before Albion and I began to fight.]** Ddraig told him. Issei looked at the dragoness who tilted her head. She sniffed Issei once more and began to lick his face. The dragoness spoke.

"Onii-tan! I finally found your new host! And before Tiamat-neesama too!" she chirped happily. Boosted Gear appeared on Issei's left arm.

**[Magala. It's been a while. Last time I saw you, you were just a whelp. Now, you're a full-fledged Dragoness. How's the brood?]** Ddraig asked her.

Magala tilted her head and looked at Ddraig.

"Dalamadur has been keeping everyone in check in your absence. The whelps have been awaiting the return of the Red One," Magala told him.

"What was that about finding me before Tiamat?" Issei asked panicked. He had heard from Ddraig that Tiamat had killed all the past possessors of Boosted Gear that she had encountered.

"Eh? Did I forget to mention? Tiamat-neesama is coming to your location ever since she sensed you in the forest," Magala told him cheerfully.

"..."

**[...]**

"**[EHHHHHHHHH!?]**" Issei and Ddraig screamed.

"Ne, Issei-nii-nii! Will you form a pact with me?" she asked. Issei mutely nodded and formed the familiar contract with Magala.

"Let's get out of here before Tiamat decides to skewer me and eat me for lunch," Issei said as he walked like a zombie.

"Yes, let's get out of here before Tiamat arrives," a new female voice said next to him. Issei froze and mechanically turned his head to see a woman with blue hair and red eyes with x shaped pupils. On her head were two very large curved horns.

"H-hello…" Issei waved at her. She merely eye smiled in return. Magala turned to see who Issei was talking to and waved with her wing.

"Hi, Tia-neesama," she said.

Tiamat looked at her and waved.

"Hello, Gala-chan!"

Tiamat turned back to where Issei was and saw that he was gone.

Issei was running for his life. Tiamat was here and she was going to make a stew out of him.

"Oh god! Oh god! Oh god!"

"Ddraiiiiiggggg!~" Tiamat's voice rang out through the forest.

"Damnit Ddraig! What the hell did you do to piss her off!" Issei screamed as he dodged blue balls of energy that came for him.

**[I don't know! She's been like this since I got turned into Boosted Gear!]** Ddraig yelled. Issei suddenly ran into someone's chest and saw Tiamat standing in front of him. Issei summoned Boosted Gear and threw a punch at her to knock her away long enough for him to escape. She dodged it easily and threw her arm forward. She gripped his throat and began to squeeze it.

"W-why? Why are you doing this!?" Issei choked out.

Tiamat narrowed her eyes. She had never heard these questions from Issei's predecessors. Tiamat dropped Issei who gripped his throat coughing.

"Why!? I'll tell you why!?" she yelled with tears streaming down her face.

* * *

**Flashback**

_A young blue dragoness walked through the fields of Wales. Abzu had allowed her to take a week of her duties as the Sumerian Goddess of Primal Chaos. Though she wasn't a Goddess, Tiamat was worshipped as one and she hated it. She couldn't even walk down the path without being bombarded by worshippers. But here in Wales, no one knew her and that felt great. It was a freedom she never felt before._

"_I wish Ab-nii was here…" Tiamat sighed. Abzu really needed to take a break. Over in the distance, she saw a young male dragon with scales as red as blood eating a large Roc. Her stomach rumbled. She flew over and landed next to him. The dragon looked up at her._

_"What?" he looked up at her disinterested in her presence. She looked down at the Roc he was eating. He noticed her gaze. The dragon sighed and passed the rest of it to her. Tiamat looked at him gratefully as she dug into the carcass. _

"_Hey… what's your name?" she asked._

"_Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?" the dragon looked at her with bored eyes._

_Tiamat blinked and remembered that she never did tell the dragon her name._

"_Tiamat! My name is Tiamat! Remember it because I'm going to be famous one day! I will take Palladia Mors' place as a Dragon King!" she declared proudly._

"_A shrimp like you. Defeat Palladia Mors? Haha, don't make me laugh! My name's Ddraig by the way," he told her. Tiamat puffed out her cheeks and blew smoke from her snout. How dare this ingrate spit on her dreams!_

"_I'll have you know that I'm the Sumerian Goddess of Chaos!" she yelled standing up._

_"And?" Ddraig said getting up as well. He looked unimpressed by what she had just said. Usually, people would fall to their knees..er bow down and adore her. _

"_Just you watch you overgrown tomato! I will defeat Palladia Mors!" she yelled and flew off. Who did that stupid wyrm think he was. Ugin? Ophis? Great Red? He was a nobody. At least she had a title._

* * *

_A few months later, Tiamat returned to Wales. She really needed a break. Ishtar that annoying bitch. Why did she have to start a contest with Aphrodite of all people? She destroyed an entire chain of Islands and Anu was not happy. She saw the same red dragon roosting by a cliff. Next to him was a smaller black dragon the size of a horse. Tiamat landed next behind them. The two twisted their necks and saw her._

"_Oh, it's just you. Tiamat, was it?" Ddraig said. The whelp looked at her curiously or at least she thought the whelp was looking. The whelp had no visible eyes._

_"I'm surprised you remembered me," she said huffing. She glowed blue and shifted to her human form. Ddraig raised a scaly brow before glowing red and doing the same. In his human form, Ddraig has red hair and wore a red vest with black kilt. The whelp next to him glowed violet before shifting to her human form. She had a short bob cut and wore simple black robes. _

"_I just need a name to the corpse that Palladia Mors will leave behind come the Festival of the Dragon Kings," he said smirking._

_Tiamat's cheeks puffed as her face turned red. The dragon was not wrong. Palladia Mors would rip her apart and cast her remains over the seas._

"_I can help you" Ddraig offered. Tiamat looked up confused. First, he makes fun of her and now he helps her._

"_Old Dala made him promise to help you. He always said to help a fellow dragon!" the whelp next to him said happily as if seeing the older dragon being scolded made her happy._

"_Wait, Dala? As in Dalamadur? One of the Dragon Kings? He lives here!?" she exclaimed._

"_Yeah, the Old Snake lives in that massive peak behind you," Ddraig pointed to a large peak behind her. She looked and saw a massive snow-covered peak. Tiamat could faintly make out the silhouettes of other dragons flying around it._

_She suddenly got on her knees and began begging._

"_Please take me there! I've always wanted to meet a Dragon King!" she begged. Ddraig sweatdropped. _

"_Aren't you a goddess?" he said. Tiamat stared at him with massive watery red eyes. Ddraig sighed and said._

"_Alright, I'll take you to the old snake…" Ddraig sighed. This dragon called herself a goddess for the Creator's sake. Tiamat looked at him and gave him the most beautiful smile. Ddraig looked away so she couldn't see the blush that was currently forming on his face._

"_C' mon! We're burning daylight!" he said as he transformed back into a dragon and took off. The whelp did the same and flew after him. Tiamat smiled and followed suit. After a few minutes, they arrived at a massive cave. Inside, Tiamat saw a massive serpentine dragon wrapped around the largest stalagmite in the gave. It was impossibly huge and turned its red eyes to Tiamat. _

"_Ddraig, Magala. Who is this?" he said._

"_Old Snake Dalamadur, this is Tiamat. She's new here," Ddraig told him. Dalamadur looked at Tiamat appraisingly._

"_A mate for you perhaps Ddraig?" the old dragon asked. Tiamat and Ddraig choked and stared in disbelief at the dragon._

"_Are you crazy!" Ddraig and Tiamat said at the same time._

"_As if!" _

_The whelp named Magala giggled._

"_You're already in sync!" she grinned mischievously._

_Ddraig and Tiamat looked at her with red faces._

_Dalamadur let out a booming laugh that shook the entire cave._

"_Why are you here, Sumerian Dragon?" he asked._

_Tiamat's eyes grew wide. How did he know?_

"_Palladia Mors has been telling me about a challenger from down in Anu's little gaggle of Gods," Dalamadur told her as he brought his massive head down._

"_Yes, Dalamadur sir! I wish to challenge Palladia Mors for the title of Dragon King!" she said puffing out her chest._

_"I see. Ddraig, help this young dragoness train to defeat the Dragon King of Annihilation," Dalamadur said. _

"_What!? But Dalamadur! You can't possibly expect me to train this greenhorn and make her a force to be reckoned with by the time of the Festival of Kings! Plus, I still have to fight that White Bastard!" Ddraig said._

"_You will Ddraig. Palladia has explicitly stated that she will not fight her unless she is strong enough to even stand in front of her without crumbling. You are the strongest dragon here, even more so than me or Palladia. You will train her," Dalamadur ordered. Ddraig huffed. While he was stronger than him, Ddraig would never attack the dragon he respected most and thought of as a father._

"_Fine," Ddraig huffed. "Let's go."_

_Ddraig turned and walked out of the cave followed by a nervous Tiamat. This dragon in front of her was more powerful than Dalamadur and Palladia. She gulped then shook her head._

_Dragons don't feel fear, she thought. Tiamat followed Ddraig to an open field and the two landed._

"_Alright, show me what you got," Ddraig said._

_Tiamat nodded and got ready to pounce. Without warning, she lunged at Ddraig fangs bared and talons splayed ready to rip into him. Ddraig turned and swung his tail hitting her. Tiamat was sent careening into the ground. She shakily got up._

"_One hit? Really? Even Magala can last longer than you and she's only 25," Ddraig said with a look of boredom. Tiamat became angry. How dare this dragon insult her!?_

_She breathed a massive stream of blue fire towards Ddraig who just stood there. Ddraig blew a small puff of red fire which quickly ate through her stream and impacted her in the chest, sending her flying and crashing a few feet away from where she stood. Tiamat screamed in agony as the flame ate through her scales. Ddraig sighed and willed the flames to go out. There was a massive burn wound on her torso and she was barely breathing. Ddraig started to panic. Had he accidentally killed her? Ddraig picked her up in his claws gently and flew back to the Cave. Dalamadur had begun to yell at him and scolding him for nearly killing an important figure in another pantheon. Ddraig just looked down and accepted the tongue lashing Dalamadur was currently given. _

_For the next few weeks, Ddraig visited Tiamat after some of the healer dragons assured him that she would survive but end up with a scar on the left side of her torso. She was currently in human form sleeping on a small cot. Ddraig sat next to her and saw the scar just below her left breast. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The sound of groaning alerted him to Tiamat who was now slowly waking up._

_Tiamat was confused when she opened her eyes. The last thing she remembered was her first spar with Ddraig. Why is she back in the cave? Did something happen? And why was she in human form? She looked and saw Ddraig gripping her hand with a smile._

"_Thank the Creator you're awake! I'm sorry for going overboard with the flames," he began apologizing profusely._

"_Ugh.. wha-? What flames?" she suddenly remembered the pain of those scorching red flames that ate through her body. Tiamat felt herself all over and touched a bandaged area just underneath her breasts. A scar. She had a scar. Tiamat grinned at the thought of it._

_Ddraig saw her feel the area where the burn scar was and she grinned?_

"_Why are you smiling? Aren't you mad? I thought goddesses were supposed to care about their appearances?" Ddraig asked her confused._

"_No, no. I'm a Dragon first and foremost. This scar is proof that I can win. If I can survive your flames, that means that I can dish out whatever Palladia Mors has to throw at me! Let's keep going!" Tiamat said as she looked at Ddraig. She saw how close his face was. Tiamat stared at those green eyes of his. She felt as if she could just keep staring for the rest of eternity._

_Ddraig saw just how beautiful her face was. The hair. The horns. Her eyes. They were like the purest of rubies._

"_Ahem," they both flew apart red in the face. The two dragons turned and saw Magala staring at them with a smirk._

"_You two gonna kiss already or wha- owie" Magala rubbed the top of her head after Ddraig karate chopped it._

"_Let's go Tiamat. The Festival of Kings is only three months away and you spent three weeks of those napping," Ddraig said as he walked out of the room. Tiamat's eyes grew wide and followed him. _

_The next three months were spent training. Ddraig was a brutal teacher and Tiamat always came out with cuts and bruises. She was grateful for the training and took every beating with a smile. Over a few months, Dalamadur was impressed with her progress. She had become powerful._

_Maybe Tia is strong enough to defeat Palladia Mors, Dalamadur thought._

_The Festival of Kings came and all the dragons gathered at the chosen location this year. It was in Wales. Every dragon was in human form. They all walked and talked amongst each other while eating the food prepared by the dragons who knew how to cook. Ddraig and Tiamat had walked together past all the dragons. Ever the past few months, the two had grown closer to each other. Ddraig saw a familiar tuft of white hair. _

"_Albion, you white cracker bastard!" Ddraig called out._

"_Ddraig, you damn redneck!" Albion said. The two looked at each other and an oppressive aura began to come down on the entire festival. Everyone froze wondering what the two would do. Ddraig and Albion did the one thing everyone expected least. They fist bumped._

"_I look forward to our next match ya white bastard," Ddraig said to him._

"_Same here, lobster boy," Albion replied in kind and walked away. Everyone sighed. They didn't need to clean up. The last time those two at a dragon festival, Atlantis had sunk and Poseidon was pissed. He tried to fight the two but Ddraig and Albion merely roared at him causing the poor sea god to faint._

"_Alright," they all heard a voice call out. The six dragon kings walked out. Palladia Mors was in her human form. She had black hair and blue eyes. Next to her was Ugin. He was also in his human form and had green hair and blue eyes. Dalamadur stood next to Ugin. He had blonde hair and a long beard. His eyes were still red. Next to Dalamadur was Fatalis, the strongest Dragon King. He had white hair and red eyes. Next to Fatalis was Kirin, not Qilin. Kirin had white hair and red eyes like Fatalis. Her defining feature was the lone horn that protruded from her forehead. Finally was Chromium Rhuell. He had grey hair and silver eyes._

_Palladia stepped forward._

"_The challengers for the titles of Dragon King step forward!" she announced._

_Tiamat walked to the front proudly. Five others walked to the front with her. The matches began. Dalamadur was defeated by a golden dragon named Fafnir. Chromium was defeated by a black dragon named Vritra. Ugin was defeated by a giant of a dragon named Migardsormr or Jormungandr as the others called him. Kirin was defeated by a dragon named Yu Long. Fatalis was somehow defeated by a dragon named Tannin. _

_Finally came Tiamat and Palladia Mors' fight. They were in human form. Without warning, Tiamat launched herself towards Palladia. Palladia smirked._

_Amateur, she thought. She thrust her hand forward to catch Tiamat in mid-air but hit nothing but air. Tiamat appeared in front of her and sent a kick to her gut launching her into the air. Tiamat appeared behind her and drove her elbow into Palladia's back sending her back down into the ground. Palladia stood up and saw Tiamat hovering over her in the air. She smirked. This will be a good fight. Palladia launched herself to Tiamat, the force of her jump creating a massive shock wave. Palladia appeared in front of Tiamat with her claws extended. She swiped her claws but Tiamat dodged it. Tiamat sent a punch towards Palladia who blocked it and kicked Tiamat sending her flying through the air. Tiamat grit her teeth. _

_She extended her hand and shot a plume of blue flames. Palladia responded in kind by sending her own deluge of blue fire. The two flames fought for dominance as the air around the flames began to heat up. Every dragon could feel that heat as small plants began to combust. Suddenly, Tiamat let up and dodged the blue fire of Palladia. She flew towards Palladia with her fist coated in blue fire and nailed her right in the chest. Palladia snarled and transformed into her dragon form. It was a massive black dragon with twisted horns and blue eyes. She breathed a massive ball of fire at her. Tiamat transformed into her dragon form and breathed a stream of blue fire in return. Her fire blast cut straight through Palladia's fireball. Palladia felt an intense burning pain in her torso. She was hit with Tiamat's flames. Tiamat flew up to Palladia who was hovering trying to extinguish the flames. Palladia looked and saw Tiamat swing her tail in a downward motion sending her crashing into the ground creating a massive crater. Palladia looked up and saw Tiamat forming a massive red sphere of fire. _

"_**Fusion Flare!"**_

_Palladia opened her mouth and formed a ball of black and red flames. _

"_**Beacon of Destruction!"**_

_Palladia and Tiamat fired their respective attacks. Palladia's fire beam was slowly pushing Tiamat's fireball back. Tiamat struggled to push back but was losing ground slowly. She was about to give up when she heard Ddraig._

"_TIAMAT! ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE UP! WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DRAGONESS THAT WANTED TO BE A DRAGON KING! I DIDN'T WASTE MY TIME TRAINING A QUITTER! FIGHT!" Ddraig yelled at her from the crowd._

_Tiamat looked at Ddraig with wide eyes. She smiled at him and focused back on the fight._

_Ddraig…_

_She pushed the last of her energy into her attack causing the fireball to expand to the size of a cruise ship. Palladia's eyes grew wide as she tried to push back but found that she couldn't push back. Her attack was swallowed by Tiamat's __**Fusion Flare**__. The massive ball of fire impacted and a massive explosion incinerated everything in the area. The explosion died down Palladia was seen standing with severe burns. Tiamat landed in front of the Black Dragon of Annihilation._

_Palladia grinned. This girl would be a great successor, she thought._

_"Good job, whelp. I hereby grant you the title, Dragon King. Hail Tiamat! The Chaos Karma Dragon," she said as she passed out. Tiamat shifted to her human form. She heard someone running to her. It was Ddraig and Magala. _

_Ddraig hugged her and swept her up and they both laughed as Ddraig spun Tiamat around. They touched their foreheads together. _

"_KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!" Tiamat and Ddraig saw the crowd gathered around them. They were cheering for them to kiss, Magala and Dalamadur chief among them. The two went red, looked at each other, and shrugged. Their lips touched and Tiamat felt as if she was in Heaven. For Ddraig, he had never felt anything more satisfying nor had he felt happier. The two broke apart for air and looked at each other and smiled. They separated and looked at the crowd holding hands._

* * *

_The years would fly by and the dragons would have their festivals. Of course, no dragon could defeat the current kings. Ddraig and Albion had their fights which would devastate an entire country giving the gods headaches. But that didn't matter to Ddraig or Tiamat. The two could never be seen apart for long for where one went the other followed. Soon, Ddraig and Albion gained the title, Heavenly Dragon. A Heavenly Dragon and a Dragon King. Their relationship became somewhat of a fairy tale among mating dragons. They were happy that was until the Great War broke out. The dragons cared little for each side continuing about their lives. The Pantheons scrambled to protect their borders forcing Tiamat to return to Mesopotamia to strengthen the borders._

"_It'll only be for a few weeks love. I'll be back," Tiamat reassured him. They had built a quaint little home in a human village to remain inconspicuous._

"_I know. I just have a bad feeling," Ddraig said to her. Tiamat planted a kiss on his cheek._

"_It's nothing. I'll see you in two weeks," she said as she formed a magic circle and teleported to Mesopotamia._

_Two weeks would pass and Tiamat returned to their home in Wales. She felt that she and Ddraig had been apart for too long and couldn't wait to return home to him. As she walked, she saw the village they lived in up in flames. Tiamat saw Angels, Devils, and Fallen fighting each other with Ddraig and Albion restrained in the background. A figure with white hair and white robes floated above them with his hand outstretched. She took off and shifted to her dragon form killing every angel, fallen, and devil in her path. The white-haired man turned around and Tiamat fell to the ground. She tried to get up but felt herself unable to. Tiamat recognized him, the God of the Bible. _

"_I'm sorry child. But, these two are too dangerous to be allowed to roam free," He said sadly._

"_NO! Please let him go! Take me instead!" Tiamat begged with tears streaming down her face. _

_"Tiamat," she turned to look at Ddraig. He had his tears streaming down his face as well. Ddraig gave her a reassuring smile. _

"_It's okay my love. Everything will be okay," Ddraig said to her calming her down._

_Albion struggled to stand up but could not do it. He couldn't even breathe fire. This deity had somehow prevented them from using their powers. The God of the Bible snapped His fingers and Ddraig and Albion screamed in pain. A white light came out of their eyes and mouth._

_Tiamat screamed and begged him to stop. To stop hurting her mate. She screamed until her voice was hoarse. Finally, Ddraig and Albion stopped screaming and their heads fell limp. Tiamat looked on in pure horror and anguish when she saw Ddraig. His eye sockets were nothing more than smoldering holes. God of the Bible waved His hand and a red and white sphere appeared. It was his soul. Ddraig's soul. God placed Ddraig's soul inside a red gauntlet. The gauntlet transformed into a red light and shot off into the sky. He did the same with Albion's._

_Suddenly, Tiamat found herself able to move. She felt livid at this being for daring to take her mate away. She let loose a jet of flames only to find nothing had come from her mouth. Her head fell in despair. No, they were supposed to have a family together. To grow old together. _

_"Do not despair. One day, you will be reunited with him through a host who bears a kind heart and has suffered similar anguish," the Deity in front of her spoke. He disappeared leaving a broken Tiamat to weep in the ruins of her home. _

**End Flashback**

* * *

Issei couldn't stop the tears from flowing from his eyes. He figured out why she killed all of his predecessors. She was trying to free Ddraig from his prison.

"Now you know. You must die for the freedom of my love," Tiamat said as she stood over Issei, her red eyes glowing an ominous red.

**[Tiamat, please spare my host. Please.]** Ddraig said.

"No, I'm sorry Ddraig. We will be together again. Even if it means killing your host," she said as her eyes went dull. She transformed into a massive blue dragon and let loose a torrent of flames towards Issei. Issie dodged it.

**[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]** Issei flew up and kicked Tiamat in the jaw. She didn't move.

**[Boost x50]**

**[Dragon Shot]**

Tiamat stood there unfazed. She roared and all the water in the area rose from their sources and shot towards him. Issei began to dodge every one of them.

**[Partner! You can't beat Tiamat. Not in this form. No matter how many Boosts you apply to yourself!]** Ddraig said. Issei grit his teeth. Time to use that form.

**[Abyss Dragon Drive!]** Issei was surrounded in a black and green aura. The mere burst of it pushed Tiamat several feet as she narrowed her red eyes. Issei was now covered in black armor with a red tint. The normal emerald green gem of the Boosted Gear became a poisonous shade of green.

**[Force]**

Tiamat was sent sprawling on the ground by an unseen force. She looked up and saw Issei had his palm stretched out. She unleashed a barrage of fireballs at him. Issei summoned a shield formed from pure darkness and blocked her onslaught.

**[Combust]** A stream of black and green flames hurtled towards Tiamat. She immediately took off and charged Issei. She swung her tail sending Issei into the ground. Issei landed on his feet and took off towards her. He uppercutted her sending Tiamat higher into the sky.

**[Boost x10]**

**[Demon Dragon Shot!]**

A black and red beam of energy crashed into Tiamat exploding in mid-air. The entire forest shook.

Irina looked at the sky and saw Issei fighting a dragon. She was about to fly to help him when the Familiar Master put a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.

"You'll only be slowing him down. That's Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon," he explained.

"Bu-!" she was interrupted.

"Have faith," he said as they turned their attention back to the battle.

"**Blue Flare!"** a stream of extremely hot flames narrowly missed their target. Issei looked to where the flames landed and saw the entire patch of land reduced to ashes. He felt a force slam into him as he crashed into the ground. He saw Tiamat hovering above him with her mouth open. A massive orange ball of flame began to form.

"**Fusion Flare!"** Tiamat fired the ball. As it approached him, Issei thought of a way to get out of this. He had an idea.

**[Combust]** Issei's entire armor was coated in black flames. He launched himself towards the sun like sphere and reared his fist back. Tiamat watched in shock as Issei punched right through her **Fusion Flare**. Issei kept going and went straight through her stomach. Tiamat barely registered what happened until she crashed into the ground.

Issei landed and ran up to her collapsed form. She lay there bleeding with blood streaming from her mouth.

"You did well kid… I hereby pronounce you Dragon King. Hail Issei Hyoudou, Demon Dragon of Annihilation," she said smiling. Blood was flowing from her mouth. Her eyes were starting to close. Issei panicked. He meant to knock her out not punch a hole in her stomach.

"Dammit! This isn't how I wanted this to end!" he yelled.

"Ddraig! Help me save her!" Issei yelled.

**[...]** Ddraig watched as his mate was dying. He didn't blame Issei. He was just trying to survive and defend himself.

"Dammit! Come on powers do something! You're supposed to be these special demon powers!," Issei said as his hands were wreathed in Miasma. He attempted to heal Tiamat with it to no avail.

Ddraig watched on in sadness as his partner tried to save his mate. Suddenly, he gained an idea. Issei had gained the Divide Function from absorbing a piece of Albion's soul. This could save Tiamat but she would be forced to live inside Boosted Gear and become tied to the Sacred Gear.

**[Issei! Remember when you absorbed a piece of Albion's soul!]**

"!?" Issei's eyes grew wide. He knew what Ddraig was planning. He was planning on adding Tiamat to the Boosted Gear. But how? Tiamat didn't have an object Issei could transplant to his gear. That's how he gained the Divide power. He did it by transplanting a jewel from Divine Dividing. He gained an idea.

"Ddraig, remember when you transferred my soul to my armor while Ophis and Great Red made me a new body!" he said.

**[Yes, what are you go-! That's it. Quick partner! Put the Boosted Gear onto her body! And take something out for me to transfer it to!]** Ddraig ordered.

"Right!" Issei took out a small blue sapphire he had found earlier. Issei put his gauntlet covered hand on top of Tiamat's torso. The Boosted Gear glowed blue and the aura traveled to Issei's other arm and into the sapphire.

**[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!] **Issei was covered in the red armor. He took the green jewel in his right shoulder and smashed it. He implanted the gem with into the area where the Boosted Gear Gem used to be. As soon as he did that, a blue shockwave of energy exploded from Issei and uprooted every tree around him.

**[Partner, you did it. Tiamat's soul is now bound to the Boosted Gear like mine.]** Ddraig said. Issei sighed in relief and released Balance Breaker. On his gauntlet were three gems: an Emerald for Ddraig, a Zircon for Albion, and a Sapphire for Tiamat.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Issei asked Ddraig.

**[I can't tell. I just hope it's soon.]** Ddraig said.

Issei nodded and saw Magala standing in front of him.

"You ready to go meet everyone else?" he asked her. The dragon nodded and Issei formed a circle and teleported back to the forest entrance where he saw the Familiar Master and Irina waiting. Irina saw the massive black dragon behind Issei.

"Issei… who's that?" she pointed.

"My familiar! Her name is Gore Magala. Please make her feel welcome!" Issei said gesturing dramatically to the dragoness.

"Hiya!" Magala said waving a wing at Irina. Irina waved weakly. It was too much for her. Hikari was on her shoulder tilting her head.

"Thanks, familiar master!" Issei thanked the man before teleporting back to Lucifer Castle along with Irina.

* * *

**Lucifaad, 4:45 PM**

Issei was walking down the street sporting a massive lump on his head. The minute Grayfia had heard about Issei's fight with Tiamat she slammed her fist down on his skull and spent the next three hours scolding him. She went on and on about how he was reckless to fight a yandere Dragon King and how he could've gotten killed. Grayfia then proceeded to call Azrael who immediately appeared and slammed her fist down on top of Issei's skull. She then proceeded to give Issei the same tongue lashing as Grayfia. However, in the end, she said congratulations for defeating a Dragon King while Grayfia rubbed her temples at Azrael's conclusion. How was he supposed to learn if she encouraged the behavior? While all this happened, Lily was on top of Magala's head watching as her brother was being scolded.

"Hey, Issei. You should use an alias to enter," Kiba said bringing Issei out of his memories.

"Hmmm, let me think," Issei said. He began to think of numerous aliases to use.

"How about Ichigo Kurosaki?" he said.

"Nope," Ingvild said nibbling on her sandwich.

"Kirito?" he asked.

"Nope," Kiba said this time.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Issei said hoping this one would set in.

"Where are you getting these names from Aniki? They sound too fake," Mitsuki said.

"Kurenai Akagami," Issei pulled out his last one.

The six paused to think.

"I like it. Short. Sweet. Rolls off the tongue," Irina told him.

"But seriously? Scarlet Red God or Scarlet Red Hair?" Rossweisse asked him this time.

"Scarlet Red God, duh," Issei said as they walked to the registration booth.

"Hi, I'd like to register for the, ugh, Azazel Cup," Issei mentally gagged at the name. The people at the booth smiled and gave him a clipboard to fill out. Issei wrote down his alias, species, height, weight, blah, blah, legal stuff.

He handed back the clipboard and was handed the scroll and a box of Evil Pieces.

"This is your Scroll. You will receive notifications about who you will fight, use it to register teammates, and see the scoreboard plus other features," the operator explained.

"Good luck in the tournament, Akagami-san," he said. Issei nodded and walked back to the group.

"Alright, guys. Time to find somewhere to register you all," Issei said. As the group walked, Issei bumped into someone and fell onto the ground. He looked up and saw a man with black hair and green eyes wearing a red suit and black pants with black shoes and a woman with violet hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes wearing a white leotard with thigh high socks and a bow at the collar.

"Ara, are you all right?" she said.

The man extended his hand and helped Issei up.

"Yeah, no worries," he said.

"Are you two participating in the tournament?" Irina asked the two newcomers.

The woman smiled.

"Yes. Oh, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Rem," she said bowing.

"I'm Seth," the man greeted.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 2920**

**Creature Name: Yatagarasu**

**Type: Nature Spirit?**

**File: The three legged raven said to be the emisarry of the Heavens. This crow has the power to manipulate pure light. Due to its affiliation with the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, the Yatagarasu can control fire that burns at approximately 3000 degrees celsius.**

**GPS Ranking: D-Rank Mid Class**

**Prey: N/A**

**Weaknesses: Silver**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: This crow bears a striking similarity to Odin's Ravens.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 476**

**Creature Name: Gore Magala**

**File: Gore Magala is a highly dangerous dragon. Despite it being blind, the dragon hunts with great efficiency and can sense prey from at least several hundred miles away. Gore Magala has six limbs counting the two wings on its back which possesses four digits including an opposable thumb. It seems to breathe a semi-solid mass of acetylene-oxygen flames.**

**GPS Ranking: BBB Rank Ultimate Class**

**Prey: Anything**

**Weaknesses: Dragon Killing Weapons**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: If you encounter this dragon, run and pray that it doesn't find you.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 13**

**Creature Name: Dalamadur**

**File: This dragon is one of the previous Dragon Kings alongside Ugin, Kirin, Palladia Mors, Chromium Rhuell, and Fatalis. He is by far the most massive of the previous six. This dragon has a serpentine appearance. Estimates have Dalamadur's total length as 440 meters or greater. His flames are red oxygen based fire with the same consistency as napalm.**

**GPS Ranking: D Rank Deity Class**

**Prey: Anything**

**Weaknesses: Dragon Killing Weapons**

**Notes:**

**Cornelius D'Arc:... He's big that's all I'll say.**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you all liked this chapter. For those of you who thought Issei would go apeshit on them. You got a taste of it. I hope that scene of him snapping Tatsuya's wrist satisfied you all. Also, thank you xBrawlx for letting me use your Ddraig/Tiamat idea even though you said you didn't own it. That said, please go read Switching Sides. It's one of the only good Fem Vali stories. Also, Ddraig does have the power to transfer souls to those who were confused. He was able to put Issei's soul inside the Balance Breaker Armor while Great Red built him a new body so that's how he transferred Tiamat's soul to the sapphire. Issei was able to bind her soul to the Boosted Gear by doing the same thing he did with the Divine Dividing Gem. Smashing one of his gems and replacing it with that so yeah. I also hoped you guys liked the backstory I gave Ddraig and Tiamat as star crossed lovers. At least, I think they are from what I wrote. Yes, Tiamat's attacks are based on Reshiram and the Dragon Kings were based on the Elder Dragons from Monster Hunter and Magic: The Gathering.**


	12. Rem and Seth

**Pyre: Hey guys. This is the last chapter I'll post for a few days. I'm going camping! So hope that I don't get eaten by a bear or mountain lion so that I can come back and give you all more chapters! Let's begin!**

**Issei: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Lucifaad, November 7, 2019, 4:56 PM; Current Time: 6 Minutes and 30 Seconds til Midnight**

"So, you guys are extra devils huh?" Issei asked them as he sipped a Fanta through his straw. The two in front of him were odd. He had never seen devils that looked like them before.

"No, actually, our ancestors were members of House Gremory and House Sitri," Rem explained. Issei raised an eyebrow. They were from Houses Gremory and Sitri.

"What happened to your parents?" Irina asked them.

"Our parents were killed by stray devils," Rem replied.

"That's horrible!" Rossweisse said looking at them in sympathy.

"It's okay. We got over it a long time ago," Seth told them. An awkward silence filled the air.

"You guys know each other long?" Kiba finally asked them.

"Yes actually, we've known each other our entire lives," Seth answered him.

"Wow, just like me and Ise!" Irina chirped.

"Well, we really must get going if we are to register," Rem politely told them.

"Oh no, we're sorry for keeping you," Ingvild told them with a smile.

The two walked off or in Rem's case floated off in the direction of the booth.

"What an odd bunch.." Issei muttered.

"Ise-kun, you shouldn't say such things about people," Irina told him.

* * *

**Ars Goetia, 5:45 PM**

Ajuka sat there looking at his tablet looking at all the current entries for the tournament. Sirzechs sat there playing games on his phone. Grayfia leaned on his shoulder taking a short nap. Yes. Grayfia taking a nap. Serafall was quietly reading a book and Falbium was asleep.

"Boring," he swiped to another entry.

"Boring."

"Oh, Thor? I thought Odin said he was off after some gamer named NoobMaster69?" he swiped to another one.

"Boring."

"Another boring one…" The sound of wings flapping filled the room. He looked up and saw Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Azrael, Azazel, and Raphael's queen, Risa.

"You guys are done with Heaven, Uriel," Sirzechs asked the red-haired and yellow-eyed man.

"Yeah. Put up the finishing touches. I wanted to add a couple of suns but Raphael told me not to," Uriel said with a pout.

Raphael deadpanned at him.

"Well, if we put ten stars in the Third Heaven we would get a million complaints about it being sunny and hot all the time. Seriously, think about our resources too. We don't have the manpower to make a star and aren't at full power yet," Raphael stated. Everyone sweatdropped. Leave it to Raphael to look at things in a different light and completely ruin Uriel's buzz.

"Raphael-sama…" Risa said with a sigh. Her King was very…interesting, to say the least.

"So anybody interesting?" Uriel asked leaning over Ajuka's shoulder.

"Yeah, we got Thor," Ajuka said.

"Huh, I thought he was hunting down some guy named NoobMaster69," Uriel questioned. At the mention of the name, Azazel turned several shades of white.

"Artemis is participating."

"The man-hater?" Azrael asked him.

"You know any other deities that kill men just for being born the gender?" Ajuka told her dryly.

"Do we even have any contingencies in place for her?" Serafall asked him.

"Yeah, we call it the Lunar Protocol," Azazel told her. They all turned to Azazel with confused looks on their faces.

"If Artemis or any of her hunters shoot with the intent to permanently maim or kill, she and her hunters will be immediately disqualified and detained immediately. It was actually proposed by Zeus," Azazel explained.

"Oh," was the intelligent response of the other leaders.

"Oh, Set!" Gabriel said.

"Looks like the Wild West Arena in Agreas will be his favorite," Sirzechs said.

"Boring, boring, boring, Riser, boring," Ajuka kept swiping through the participants. So far, the interesting ones were Diehauser, Shiva, Artemis, Thor, Verethranga, Kali, and Set. He saw one that piqued his interest. It was a picture of a hooded young man.

Kurenai Akagami.

"Oh, you see one that caught your eye Ajuka-tan," Serafall walked over and snatched the tablet.

"Kurenai Akagami?" Serafall said eyebrows scrunching in confusion.

"Let me see," Azazel said. She passed the tablet to Azazel as he studied it.

_Kurenai Akagami_

_HT: 5'7_

_WT: 140 lbs_

_Species: Unknown_

_Peerage Members: None as of yet._

_X1 King_

_X1 Mutated Queen_

_X2 Rooks_

_X2 Knights_

_X1 Bishop_

_X1 Mutated Bishop_

_X4 Mutated Pawns_

_X4 Pawns_

Azazel's eyes grew wide. A mutated queen, bishop, and four pawns!? Who was this guy? Not even Shiva had this many mutated pieces.

"Um, guys? This guy has 6 mutated pieces," Azazel told them.

"!?" Everyone stared at Azazel as if he was crazy. Seeing this, Azazel passed around the tablet. After seeing the tablet, everyone was intrigued. Who was this guy?

Azrael studied the tablet a little longer. She looked at the picture deep in thought. Looking for any familiar facial features, Azrael racked her brain trying to figure out the identity of the mysterious participant. She then saw it. His smile. She only knew one person with that type of smile.

"It's Issei," Azrael said tossing the tablet to Ajuka.

"How did you know?" Grayfia asked her. She was annoyed that Azrael could recognize Issei even under a disguise. Azrael looked at her and smirked. She was jealous.

"His smile. I can recognize it anywhere. I was his babysitter after all," Azrael said with an air of superiority. Grayfia's eye twitched.

"Well, now we know that Issei isn't participating in Rias's team. If he's taking an alias, he must be keeping his identity a secret from everyone," Sirzechs said as he took the tablet and looked it over. Species: Unknown?

"Why does it say that his species is unknown?" Sirzechs asked him.

"Huh? That's weird. Since he removed his pieces, it should say Demi-Dragon since technically, he would be half human half dragon," Ajuka said. He put a hand on his chin. This certainly was strange.

"It could be the Miasma in his blood," Azazel said.

"Could be…" Ajuka began to think about the possibility. From what the Archangels told him, Miasma wasn't supposed to alter the genetic makeup. Miasma was supposed to give a power boost to those who could handle it. Pushing the thought back, Ajuka kept going through the entry list.

"!?" Ajuka felt a cold sweat run down his spine. Two familiar images popped up on the tablet.

"It's them," Ajuka said connecting the tablet to the projector. A hologram of the entry popped up.

"Of course he would send them," Azazel pinched the bridge of his nose. Those two were some of his best operatives. They would be easily able to kill anyone in the Games.

"Should we tighten security?" Falbium asked.

"No," Michael said. They all looked at him incredulously.

"If we do, they'll pull out and we won't be able to get what we want," he told them. Michael's eyes suddenly flashed green. His wings popped out and the pressure in the room increased dramatically. A seventh pair of wings appeared on Michael's back.

"Almost there," Gabriel said smiling as she saw her older brother with 14 wings now. It was only a matter of time before the others got their 7th pair back.

"Just one more," he said. The other Archangels nodded.

The Satans looked on as they felt Michael's power level disappear. How powerful were they at their full power?

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, November 9, 2019, 11:45 AM**

The next two days flew by for Eden Squad. They mostly trained and got in touch with the members of Blacklight. Issei sat and ate his lunch in their club room which was a small room on the other side of the building. Lily had recently entered Kuoh Primary as a first grader. He remembered her first day.

**Flashback**

"_Big Brother, are you sure they'll like me?" Lily asked Issei. She was wearing the uniform for the Kuoh Elementary. He had asked a couple of favors from Sona to get her into the school and to get adoption papers. She was legally Lily Hofferson-Hyoudou, the adoptive younger sister of Issei and Mitsuki Hyoudou._

"_Of course! Who wouldn't like you?" Issei said petting her head. Mitsuki walked in with her red uniform showing her status as an Honors Student in Kuoh._

"_You two ready?" Mitsuki asked them. Ever since the papers were finalized, Mitsuki had taken the big sister role to heart. Lily, who never had an older sister before, had taken to her as quickly as she did Irina and Rossweisse. It helped that she was Issei's twin. _

_Lily nodded her little head. The twins and Lily walked down the stairs. Issei saw Asia and Koneko looking at him. He turned his head away and walked out the door. Lily and Mitsuki followed him out and the three began their walk to the Academy. Irina had to head there early to discuss the details of the club with Sona and Kiba was still sleeping. He was tired because of all the contracts he had to fulfill the night before. Ingvild and Rossweisse were already at the school._

"_Hey, that pervert is going for a little girl," Issei heard. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He was not going for Lily. Lily was 6 for God's sake. Mitsuki split off from them saying that she would meet up with Issei in class leaving Issei and Lily by themselves. Issei walked her to the Kuoh Academy Elementary Division._

"_Okay, Lily. Have fun and make friends okay. No showing your powers to them and be careful," Issei reminded her. Lily nodded and walked inside the classroom where the teacher was waiting for her. Issei waited for a little and after seeing her take a seat, he walked to class._

_During lunch, Irina had led them all to an unused classroom on the opposite end of the building. Sona had given it to them use for their club._

"_Hmm, we need to clean *cough* it a little," Ingvild said wiping the dust off of the shelf._

"_Yeah, *cough* it's really dusty," Kiba remarked as he looked around._

"_Welp, better now than never," Irina said pulling a box of cleaning supplies out from her dimensional storage. The six got to work on cleaning the room. Ingvild used her water magic to clean the roof and polish the floors. Irina unleashed her wings and flew around vacuuming every part of the room. Kiba and Issei took out the shelves with Gasper carrying out all the books. They came back with Issei and Gasper bringing in a piano that the school had provided. Kiba walked in after them carrying a few guitars. They placed them in the room and sat down. Rossweisse came in with a tray of food. There was nigiri along with some katsudon. The food looked absolutely mouthwatering. They all looked at her gratefully and began to eat._

"_Thish food ish good!" Issei said after taking a bite, his mouth was full._

"_Yea, who made this?" Irina asked._

"_Kuroka did," Mitsuki said after swallowing her food._

"_Damn, Kuroka can cook!" Issei said as he gobbled up the food. Everyone hummed in agreement as they quickly finished their food. There was a light knock on the door. Rossweisse got up to open it and saw a woman with Lily. The woman was a head shorter than her with short black hair down to her shoulders. Her eyes were black and she wore a two-piece suit._

"_Um, hello is Issei Hyoudou here?" she asked. Rossweisse blinked and let her in. Lily immediately ran in and sat next to Issei and began to talk about her day. _

"_I'm Shizune. Shizune Senju," the woman called Shizune bowed and greeted them._

"_Big Brother, that's Senju-sensei! She's the best teacher ever!" Lily fired off. Issei nodded struggling to keep up with her rapid-fire speech._

**End Flashback**

Issei heard the door open and saw Kiba walking in with Tsubaki. Tsubaki was a fairly tall woman. She was a good head taller than her king and had long, silky black hair. Her eyes were amber and she wore blue-rimmed glasses. Kiba greeted him and began to show her around.

"Kiba, I don't mind that you're using the club as a venue but please remember to use protection," Issei teased. Kiba and Tsubaki choked and started sputtering excuses. Tsubaki's face was as red as Sirzechs' hair and she was glaring at Issei. Issei laughed a little.

"I'll leave you to give you two some privacy," Issei said as he walked out of the clubroom. He took a walk around the school grounds and saw Matsuda and Motohama running towards him.

"He-" Issei watched as they ran past him without even saying hi. He looked at them and saw that they were already at the end of the hall.

"What's with them?" he said to himself. The hairs on Issei's back stood up and he moved to the side. Issei saw a furious Murayama holding a bokken glaring at Issei. Katase was next to her with the same bloodthirsty grin on her face.

"Um hey," Issei waved at them lamely. Murayama leveled her bokken towards Issei's face.

"Hyoudou. You must die for the sake of all women everywhere!" she said darkly. Katase was chuckling madly behind her.

"Woah! I didn't do anything!" he yelled as he kept dodging Murayama's strikes.

"LIAR!" she yelled as she thrust the bokken towards Issei's torso. Issei brought his hand down on the bokken snapping it in half. Issei jumped back as Katase swiped her bokken at Issei's neck.

_What the hell!? Are they trying to kill me or something!?_, Issei thought as he stared at the two girls.

**[Issei.]** Ddraig said to him in his head.

"_Now's not a good time Ddraig!" _Issei said to him.

**[Tiamat's awake]** Ddraig told him. Issei nodded inwardly.

**|Hello boy|** a melodious voice rang inside his head.

"_Tiamat?"_ Issei asked as he dodged another swipe from Katase followed by blocking an overhead smash from Murayama who had brought out a spare bokken.

**|You know any other Dragon Kings currently inside the Boosted Gear?|** she asked him sarcastically.

"_Right sorry. Let me finish this and get back to you guys,"_ Issei said as he blocked a hit from Katase and pulled her in. He brought his face up to hers making her blush. He chopped her neck knocking her out. Murayama seeing her friend fall unconscious began to rage.

*******Warning M-Rated Scene up ahead***

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TO HER YOU STUPID PERVERT!" she roared as she ran towards Issei. Issei dodged and chopped her in the neck knocking her out as well. Issei picked them up in a fireman carry and brought them to the club room. He opened the door with his telekinesis. He saw something that would scar him forever. Kiba and Tsubaki were in the middle of a session. Issei just stared with his jaw dropped.

_She must really love Kiba's sword_, Issei thought red-faced as he stared at Tsubaki sucking on Kiba's dick.

**[...]**

**|...|**

"..." Issei, Ddraig, and Tiamat watched in fascination as Tsubaki practically consumed Kiba's member in her mouth. She slid two fingers into her black lace panties and began to pump furiously.

Issei caught the scent of his sister entering the room.

"Hey Aniki, Az-nee thinks she found some...thing…" Mitsuki's face was red as she watched what Kiba and Tsubaki were doing. She watched as Tsubaki kept bobbing her head clearly enjoying what she was doing. Kiba's groans of approval were becoming increasingly uncomfortable to listen to.

"..." (Issei)

"..." (Mitsuki)

**[...] **(Ddraig)

**|...|** (Tiamat)

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!?" her scream brought Kiba and Tsubaki out of their lust induced haze and saw Issei and Mitsuki standing there with red faces. Tsubaki removed her mouth from Kiba's crotch and hid behind Kiba. Kiba just looked at the floor. Anywhere but his friends' faces.

***M-Rated Scene Over***

Fifteen minutes later, Kiba and Tsubaki were sitting on the floor looking down in embarrassment. Mitsuki stood over them with her hands on her hips.

"Why the hell did you two decide that the school was a good place to have sex with each other!?" Mitsuki screeched. They had locked the door and the two kendo girls were currently laying on the floor unconscious.

"Do you not know how to lock a door!? There are children here! What if Lily walked in and saw it!?" she kept yelling.

Kiba and Tsubaki just kept their heads down and accepted everything Mitsuki was currently saying. Mitsuki pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"Never mind that. Aniki, Az-nee said that she needs us for something. All of us," she shot a look to Kiba. Kiba nodded. Tsubaki looked at him worried.

"If you'll excuse us Tsubaki-san, we need to borrow your boyfriend. Please look after Murayama and Katase," Issei said as he and Mitsuki walked out of the clubroom.

"Kiba, what's going on?" Tsubaki looked at him with her amber eyes filled with worry. He shot her a reassuring smile.

"Sirzechs-sama just needs us for something," Kiba said. He gave her one final kiss on the cheek before running out to catch up with Issei and Mitsuki.

"So, you and Tsubaki? When did that happen? Last, I remember. You didn't even realize she even like you that way," Issei asked him. Kiba looked at him with a sheepish smile.

"Well, she led me behind the school a few months ago and confessed," Kiba said, "I decided to give her a chance since I had something telling me to go for it."

"Ah, so that's how you two ended up doing that…" Mitsuki looked at him blankly. Kiba coughed with a red face. They kept walking and Mitsuki eventually decided to give up and join Issei in teasing Kiba. They walked like that to Azrael's office.

"Finally, you three are here," Azrael said from her chair. Rossweisse, Gasper, Ingvild, and Irina were there in the room waiting.

"What took you guys so long Senpai?" Gasper asked.

Issei gained a sly grin. Mitsuki saw the smile on her twin's face and smirked back. Kiba saw their smirks and shrank where he stood.

"Kiba was busy," Issei began.

"Getting his sword cleaned," Mitsuki finished. The others raised an eyebrow and turned to Kiba, who had a red face. Irina's face turned red when she realized what they were talking about.

"Kiba! This is a school!" Irina gasped. She had a scandalized look on her face.

"What? What was Kiba doing?" Rossweisse and Ingvild said simultaneously.

"It's too embarrassing to say," Irina said with a red face. Issei and Mitsuki were laughing in the back. Azrael decided it was enough and coughed to get their attention.

"We have located a possible child," Azrael said as she brought up a picture. It was a boy about their age with black hair and brown eyes.

"This is Ichika Orimura. He was born to a mother who died in a house fire when he was younger. His sister, Chifuyu Orimura, is the current world Kendo Champion. They live in Tokyo where Ichika goes to an engineering school that has recently turned co-ed. Currently, he's the only male at the academy this year," she finished. Azrael turned towards them.

"Take the Colt with you. You might need it and don't worry about driving. Risa has already detected Miasma signatures in the city," Azrael said, "I'll teleport all of you there."

"Oh, Az-nee. Can you and Risa-sama look after Lily today? I can't leave her at home with Rias and the others there," he asked.

Azrael nodded and snapped her fingers and Eden Squad vanished from her office. Azrael saw her CC flash into existence in front of her. She answered it.

"Hello?"

"Azrael, we need you to come to Ars Nova," Michael's voice came from the circle. Azrael sighed.

"Alright, Nii-sama," Azrael said to the CC and cut the link. Azrael unfurled her eight pairs of wings and teleported to the Underworld.

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan, 3:15 PM**

They appeared in an alley in Akihabara. Eden Squad walked out into the street and began to ask for directions to the Infinite Stratos Engineering Academy.

"Hey, nii-san," Issei asked a random person.

The man looked at him oddly.

"Do you know where the IS Academy is? We're visiting an old friend," Issei asked him.

"Uh yeah sure. It's a few kilometers outside the city on a man-made island," he pointed them to the harbor. Issei thanked him and he and the others began to make their way to Tokyo Harbor. They stopped for a quick bite and continued on their way with their meals to go. After arriving at the harbor, they saw a few females in uniforms heading to a boat. They ran to catch up with them.

"Hey!" Irina yelled. The female with brown hair turned to look at them.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Can we catch a ride with you on the boat, please? We're visiting an old friend of ours. Ichika Orimura?" Irina told her. The girls' eyes narrowed. The one with blonde hair and blue eyes walked up to her and studied her.

"You know him?" she asked.

"Well, not exactly. We know his sister," Issei interjected. The girls' eyes softened.

"Oh, you're all just fans," the one with twin tails told them. The group nodded frantically wanting to get on. The three sighed and told the captain that they had guests. The captain looked with them with an annoyed gaze. This must happen too often. As the boat left Tokyo Harbor, Eden Squad looked to see a massive academy complex on a man-made island. The most defining feature was a massive spire that looked like a twisted horn. The metallic color of the island was set off by the parks and trees that seemed to dot the entire island. The boat arrived at the dock and Eden Squad and the three girls got off. They thanked the girls and began to walk to the academy.

"Issei," Rossweisse said from behind him, "What do you feel?"

"..." Issei felt around for a signature. He pointed to a building.

"There," he said. The others saw the sun beginning to set and looked around for any cameras or people. Confirming that they were safe, the entire team unfurled their wings and took off, flying to one of the buildings across from the one with the signature.

"We'll begin our stakeout here. We can't let those two get to this one," Issei ordered. The entire group nodded and drew straws to see who would take first watch. Mitsuki lost and she walked up to the edge of the roof and began her shift. Issei sat down by a wall and began to meditate. He was drawn inside his mindscape and was greeted by two massive western dragons. One was red and the other was blue. They were Ddraig and Tiamat.

**|Look who showed up| **Tiamat said looking at Issei. Issei waved at her smiling.

"I see that you're okay. I'm glad," Issei said. Tiamat smiled a dragon smile at him.

**[We need to talk about the new powers Tiamat has granted you. Summon the Boosted Gear.]** Ddraig told him. Issei summoned the Boosted Gear in his left arm.

**|Right now, the gem is green indicating that you are using Ddraig's powers of [Boost] and [Transfer]. Now, feel for my power and call it forth|**, Tiamat said to Issei.

Issei focused on Tiamat's energy and drew upon it. The green gem on Boosted Gear turned blue.

**[Now you have Tiamat's powers active. As her title suggests, Tiamat has the power to control chaos. Using her powers will allow you to create small scale calamities around you. Like a mini earthquake or mini eruption of you're on land. Focusing it on the air allows you to create localize storms and other weather anomalies. Her gear also allows you access to her techniques such as |Fusion Flare| and |Blue Flare| in addition to water manipulation] **Ddraig explained to Issei. Issei looked at the blue gem with awe. The power to create mini earthquakes to throw opponents off their game. Controlling calamities and water. Tiamat's powers were amazing. How was she not a Heavenly Dragon?

**|We can train these powers later. Right now, your Valkyrie lover is calling you|** Tiamat informed him. Issei's eyes snapped open and saw Rossweisse looking at him.

"It's your turn," she said as she walked off. Issei went up to the edge of the roof and took watch. So far, nothing was happening. It was a peaceful night. The breeze was nice and he could hear the sounds of the city off in the distance. Maybe this was just a dud. Issei looked at his phone. 8:24 PM. It had been four hours since they started. Just as Issei was about to switch off with Ingvild, his eyes grew wide. Miasma Signatures. However, these felt different from his own, Lily's, or their target. These were old. Ancient. The power itself felt poisonous and dark. Like looking into an abyss.

"Guys!" Issei said getting their attention, "They're here!" Lo and behold, a masked and robed woman appeared along with a man with red armor that had a massive violet gem at the center of the chest plate.

"That's them right?" Irina asked him. Everyone had come to the edge of the roof to see the intruders. Issei nodded. That feeling he got from them. It felt evil.

"What do we do?" Kiba said. Issei went deep into thought. Those two from what Issei could feel was much more powerful than Serafall, Falbium, and Kokabiel put together.

"We split up. Irina, Mitsuki, and I will take on the robed one. Rossweisse, take Kiba, Gasper, and Ingvild and take the armored one," he said. They all nodded and scattered from the roof.

* * *

Ichika yawned as he read his textbook. His sister had been getting on his case about his grades in class. The worse fact was that she was a professor here. Behind him, his childhood friend, Houki Shinonono, sat on the bed brushing her long brown hair. She was wearing a purple bathrobe.

"Ne, Ichika, what did Orimura-sensei want to talk to you about?" she asked him.

"Chifuyu-nee just wanted to talk about my grades. I've been slipping for a while now," he confessed. He felt so tired. He tried to get sleep the past couple nights but the nightmares. God, the nightmares. They never stopped. The yellow-eyed man. The three-headed dragon. In addition to that, Ichika had been experiencing some rather strange events to put it lightly. Lightbulbs would explode around him. When he wanted a book, one would fly off the shelf towards him. It was all rather weird.

Suddenly, Ichika's blood froze. He felt something coming fast.

"HOUKI, GET DOWN!" he yelled and tackled Houki off the bed. The entire wall facing the courtyard exploded and a mass of black tendrils shot into the room. Ichika felt himself get grabbed by the tendrils and pulled to the hole in the wall that was once the window.

"Let him go!" Houki charged the tendrils with her shinai. The shinai snapped upon making contact with the tendrils. Houki suddenly felt herself being pinned to the ceiling. She watched helplessly as Ichika was being pulled to the window. Houki made out what seemed two figures flying outside the window.

"Well, well, this one seems to be a fighter," the masked woman said as she held a struggling Ichika. The armored man looked at her and then to the girl pinned to the ceiling.

"Can I eat the girl?" he asked. The woman sighed.

"Fine, you can eat her. Just burn the building down," she said. Ichika kept struggling in her grip causing the woman to look at him. She tightened her hold on him causing him to scream in pain. The armored man walked toward the girl. She began to tear up as the man licked her face.

"You're going to be a tasty meal," he said licking his lips.

"Don't you dare touch her!" he yelled. The woman ignored him as she waited for her companion to finish his meal.

The man opened his mouth to bite down on the Houki's throat when a tendril made of water wrapped around his waist. The man looked down and saw it confused.

"Wha-?" he didn't even finish as he was thrown from the room into the courtyard. The woman looked surprised when that happened. She didn't even register Issei appearing in front of her and slugging her in the face. She dropped Ichika who was caught by Irina.

Ichika looked at her in amazement. An angel. Irina landed in his ruined room.

"Go and hide!" she ordered.

Outside, the man and the woman got up from their respective craters.

"That kid…" the woman said as she spat blood from her mouth.

"Yeah…" the man said. The two levitated off the ground and ascended to meet Issei and his friends. Issei looked at them and nodded. Without warning, Kiba launched towards the armored man brandishing Gram. He swiped it at him only for the man to block it with his halberd.

"Hehehe, you call this toothpick a sword," he said to Kiba with an arrogant smirk. Ingvild appeared underneath him. Her eyes turned red with her pupils gaining a purple bar in the middle.

"**Water Dragon Missile!**" she yelled as a massive eastern dragon made purely out of water slammed into the man. It opened its mouth to swallow the man whole only for the man to completely slice the dragon in half.

"Not bad," he said. These kids were good. Maybe he would have some fun tonight. He grinned in anticipation of the fight.

"My turn," he said. His halberd was covered in dark energy and swung it creating a massive arc of energy that flew towards Kiba and Ingvild.

A dark blue magic circle appeared blocking the attack for a few seconds allowing Kiba and Ingvild to escape. The arc cut completely through the barrier and traveled out to sea cutting the ocean in half.

Rossweisse grit her teeth. This man had easily cut through one of her strongest shields. Gasper looked at her and she nodded to him.

Gasper's eyes changed to reveal his Sacred Gear, Forbidden Balor View. Everything within Gasper's line of sight froze. Rossweisse turned to see if the man was frozen only for her eyes to widen when she saw him flying towards them.

"**Glory Drag Trooper!**" a dragon knight appeared in front of Rossweisse and blocked the man's halberd with its own sword. The knight struggled to hold against the man but the man was leagues stronger than the knight. He easily broke through the knight's blade and bifurcated the knight.

"**Primal Rune: Flames of Surtr!**" Rossweisse pointed Misteleinn at the man engulfing him in a flaming cyclone. She struggled to keep him in the flame prison. Rossweisse prayed to any higher power that the others were fine.

* * *

Issei attempted to dodge every tendril the masked woman sent at him.

**[Boost x50]**

Issei flew towards her faster than the eyes could track and threw his fist. His eyes grew wide when the woman caught his gauntlet covered fist with one finger. The woman smiled at him mockingly. Issei found himself flying backward as a shockwave emanated from her finger.

"Awww, how cute the little dragon and his group want to fight little old me? Well then, please don't die too quickly. Otherwise, how will I enjoy myself? Fufufu," she mocked from her position in the sky.

**|Child, call upon me and show this woman the power of a Dragon King!|** Tiamat yelled from the gear. Issei grinned and the gem on Boosted Gear turned blue. Issei pointed his index finger at her.

**|Calamity|** the gear announced.

A storm formed around the woman. She looked up and saw a lightning bolt strike her. The woman narrowly dodged the bolt. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the boy.

Irina took this as an opportunity. She readied a light spear and threw it at the woman. The woman didn't even look as she caught the spear. She turned her head to look at Irina. Irina felt fear. Crippling fear. She took a step back as the woman slowly flew in her direction.

Suddenly, Mitsuki appeared in donning her Balance Breaker and kicked the woman. Her eyes grew wide in shock as the woman didn't even budge an inch. The woman turned her gaze to Mitsuki. The shadow tendrils immediately moved to impale her.

Mitsuki called on her gear to alter the probability of the tendrils to hit her. Her form flickered as the tendrils missed her. One tendril managed to hit her and cutting completely through the armor creating a large gash on her shoulder. She felt herself being gripped by an unseen force. The woman closed her fist causing Mitsuki to start to scream in agony.

"Let my sister go!" Issei appeared above the woman. His eyes shifted to black and thrust his palm forward. His action surprised the woman as she felt a force throw her into the ground.

**[|Lunar Cardinal Mode!|]** Ddraig and Tiamat's voice simultaneously announced. Issei was covered in black armor. The chest piece contained a green gem in the center and the blue gems of Tiamat and Albion were on the pauldrons. Issei formed a black sphere of fire between his palms.

"Take this bitch! **|Abyssal Fusion Flare!|**," Issei threw the black sphere of flames to the woman.

The woman looked up and saw a black ball of fire. She thrust her hands forward and a mass of tendrils moved to intercept the sphere. The tendrils were easily incinerated by the flaming ball of death. The woman gritted her teeth. She would have to resort to other tactics. This boy wasn't like the others they had taken or even the one they tried to take tonight. This one could fight and the thought made her smile.

"**Hell Gate**" a portal appeared under her. The woman sank into the portal and one opened behind Issei. She willed her tendrils to attack his unexposed back.

Mitsuki and Irina saw a portal open behind Issei and the woman appeared from it to attack Issei from behind.

"Irina, let's do **Blind Justice**!" Mitsuki said. Irina nodded. She formed two white disks of light and overcharged them. The light disks crackled with pure power. Mitsuki focused her gear's power on the disks causing them to turn blue. Irina reared her arm back and threw the disks with all her might. The woman didn't even have time to react as the disks cut straight through her neck removing her head from her shoulders.

Issei turned around to see Irina's light disks cut the woman's head off. The woman's body fell unceremoniously to the ground.

"We *pant* did *pant* it!" Mitsuki said panting. Irina looked up. She had fallen on her back after expending all her power into the disk. Issei looked at her smiling. He turned to Kiba, Ingvild, Rossweisse, and Gasper.

They were finishing up as well. Ingvild summoned a dragon made of pure blood that turned into a spear the punched right through the man's chest piece and pinned him to the ground. They had just finished as well. They regrouped and went to check on their wards. They saw them hiding behind the bed.

"You can come out now. It's okay!" Issei called out. Ichika and Houki peeked out and walked towards the group.

"Thanks for saving us," Ichika said grasping Issei's hand to shake it. As Issei began to shake his hand, his entire being froze. He let go and ran to the window. What he saw froze him in shock.

The woman had gotten up headless. A mass of smoke was billowing from where her head once was. The smoke began to take shape forming a face. Red eyes stared back at him. Over to the man, the gaping hole in his chest was closing rapidly. The woman's red eyes narrowed at the boy. Their mission had been compromised. They could get the target they were sent after but the boy and his friends would move to intercept them. She realized that she couldn't afford a fight. A fight could potentially kill her target and she couldn't have that.

"Let's go. It's not worth it," she said to her partner.

"What!? Why!? We can easily take them!" he insisted. She shook her head.

"And risk killing the target. No, I would rather have Beelzebub not kill us," she said.

"**Hell Gate!**" she said. The air distorted and a black and violet portal appeared. She turned her hateful gaze back to Eden Squad.

"We will meet again kid," she said walking into the portal. The man turned towards them and sneered before following his companion. The portal disappeared.

"What the hell was that!? Who are you, people!?" Houki yelled. People with superpowers had just saved them from other people with superpowers.

Ichika looked at her and honestly, he didn't blame her. An angel just saved him. A freaking angel.

Issei and the others turned to her with a sympathetic look. These two would never be able to return to a normal life. He looked to the others to explain to them and Kiba stepped up to volunteer.

"I know you have a lot of questions but we have to leave. This place isn't safe anymore," Kiba said. The two looked at him warily.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe," Rossweisse shot them a reassuring smile. The two conceded and Ingvild formed a massive orange magic circle teleporting them to Lucifer Castle.

* * *

**Lucifer Castle, November 10, 2019, 1:45 AM**

Ichika and Houki sat there in shock. Gods, Angels, Devils, Dragons. They were all real? There was proof in front of them. A little girl was playing with a small black dragon.

"I need a drink," Ichika said. Issei passed him some sake.

"So, Ichika has some special power that those things want?" Houki asked for clarification.

Issei nodded. He had let the others go home to rest while he decided to explain everything to them.

Houki slumped back on the chair. Demons. Not Devils. Fucking Demons were now out for their heads.

"What do we do? Everyone at the academy will be looking for us! And if what you're saying is true, then those demons won't let us rest," she said. Issei looked at her sadly but then gained an idea.

"If you transfer schools, we can easily protect you from them. You don't have to stay. Only until the threat has passed. We can also train you to better protect yourselves and Orimura-san. I can teach you to control your powers," Issei offered.

Ichika looked at the man who had saved them about a half hour ago. He considered his offer. He and Houki would need to move. His older sister would need to abandon her job and move just for protection. But what choice did they have?

"We accept," Ichika said. Houki looked at him incredulously.

"What!? You can't just-," Ichika cut her off.

"Houki! This is our only shot at living a somewhat normal life! Like it or not, this is our life now…" Ichika told her. He grabbed her hands. Houki blushed at the contact.

"Please! I can't lose you or Chifuyu-nee," Ichika begged. Houki looked at his brown eyes which were laced with worry.

She sighed.

"Alright," she told him. Turning her gaze to Issei, Houki asked him a question.

"Where would we go?"

Issei smiled at them.

"Kuoh."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Object 5683**

**Object Name: Boosted Gear**

**Object Type: Mid-Tier Longinus Sacred Gear**

**File: Boosted Gear is one of the Thirteen Original Longinus created by the God of the Bible. It contains the soul of the Welsh Dragon, Ddraig. It has the power to double its user's power every ten seconds until they reach their physical limit. Its current possessor is Issei Hyoudou. As of right now, the Boosted Gear contains the soul of Tiamat, the Chaos Karma Dragon, and now has her powers over water and chaos.**

**Object Class: Class 2**

**Current Wielder/Owner: Issei Hyoudou **

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: This Gear is also affiliated with a woman's tits.**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you all liked it. That M-Rated Scene I added in. I hope it was okay for my first time writing it. I just thought it would be funny. Yes, that was Ichika and Houki from Infinite Stratos. Expect to see more of them soon. Remember no chapter for a few days because I'm going camping. Have a great day/night or not the choice is yours!~**


	13. Obligatory Training Chapter

**Pyre: Haha! I'm back and not dead. It's been a while right? Can you guys believe that we're halfway through the first arc? I'm going to answer a few questions!**

**Q: Is Azazel Noobmaster69?**

**A: Yes**

**Q: Why did Issei and the others leave the house?**

**A: Well, Issei is currently avoiding the girls again since their confrontation and is finding a different place to train. As to why he hasn't kicked them out, I just feel like it isn't in Issei's nature to just abandon someone just because they hurt him.**

**Enough with this on with the chapter!**

**Issei: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, November 10, 2019, 11:35 AM; Current Clock: 6 minutes and 27 seconds til Midnight**

BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Kiba and Gasper flew out of the dust cloud. There standing in the center was Ingvlid surrounded by a swarm of sharks made of water. She looked at them with her calculating orange eyes. Several orange magic circles formed behind her and an onslaught of pressurized blasts of water flew towards Kiba and Gasper.

"Gasper, use your Sacred Gear!" Kiba ordered as he summoned several swords and made them fly to meet Ingvild's water blasts. Gasper nodded and activated **Forbidden Balor View**. The water blasts froze in midair and the blades flew past them to Ingvild.

"**Encircling Dome of Water**" Ingvild shouted. She was surrounded in a sphere of water and the blades bounced off harmlessly.

"I'm not done yet! **Water Mirror**!" Ingvild summoned several mirrors made of pure water and a hail of blades came out of them. Gasper shifted his gaze to the blades freezing them but unfroze the water blasts in the process. Kiba tackled Gasper as the blades and water blasts flew past them destroying several buildings.

On the sidelines, Issei, Rossweisse, and Mitsuki sat. Blacklight had come to Issei's manor a few days ago and built a training simulator room for Issei. The room itself was the size of a regular room but it was outfitted with space-time runes causing the room itself to be over 2 miles from corner to corner on the inside. The room itself had over 100 different environments for them to train in. There were runes to create weather conditions and a spawner that spawns enemies of different difficulties with level one being the easiest and level ten being the most difficult. The room was in the basement where there were several unused rooms.

The Orimuras and Houki had also moved to Kuoh. Ichika had told his sister everything and they made the decision to move instantly. The problem was that several girls had followed them here giving Sona a massive headache.

"Irina's being trained by Az-nee huh?" Mitsuki asked him. Issei nodded. He was happy for his girlfriend. Az-nee was her idol and Issei had asked Azrael to train her. Irina did come back every other day for team training but everyone had their own methods of training. The door opened and Issei saw Irina coming in carrying some food. Today was a team training day so Irina was here.

"Here you go, everyone! Eat up!" she said cheerfully. Irina had worked hard on the meal. Issei, Mitsuki, and Rossweisse looked at the mouthwatering food in front of them. Irina had somehow managed to get lessons from the chefs at Blacklight and ever since then, she had been cooking five-star meals. Today's meal was a simple hamburger steak with a helping of fruits on the side. Wanting to eat, Issei walked over to the control panel and turned off the simulation.

"Kiba, Ingvild, Gasper, the food is ready!" Issei said over the intercom. The three looked over to the control deck and saw Irina with food. They immediately flew to the window which Issei had opened for them to enter.

"Alright! Dig in!" Irina said. The others began to devour the food while Irina said a small prayer for thanks.

"So, Irina, what has Az-nee been teaching you?" Mitsuki asked her after swallowing her food. Irina looked at her with a smile and a sly twinkle in her eyes.

"It's a secret! You'll see during the Games," Irina told her. Azrael had taken her as a student. Ever since she froze during that fight with the demons, Irina had vowed to get stronger. Currently, both Azrael and Raphael were training her and she made remarkable progress. As of right now, she was ranked as an EX+ Ranked High-Class Angel.

"What about you guys?" she asked. Everyone looked at her and began to answer one by one.

"I'm working on achieving my Balance Breaker," Ingvild told them. She had seen the powers of the other Longinus Users while in Balance Breaker and felt that the power would help them fight off demons and help win the Games. So far, she had made some progress.

"I'm training my magic with various Norse Archmages," Rossweisse told them. She had been training with them in addition to the members of Grazauberer. In addition to that, she had begun to learn some hand to hand combat and some other valkyries had taught her how to imbue her arms and legs with magic for more devastating hits.

"I'd like to keep my training a secret as well. But I will tell you this, I have been working on making more than just swords," Kiba said as he took another bite of the food. Kiba had been working on creating more than just swords. While he fought with swords, Kiba had tried to create other weapons and perhaps launch them as projectiles at his opponents.

"I've been working with Valerie," Gasper timidly said. He had been trying to become more confident and of use. Gasper had sent Valerie a CC and asked her to help him train his vampire powers. He didn't expect Elmenhilde to help him as well.

"I'm training with Ambriel-nee and Penemue-obasan on achieving the next version of my Sacred Gear," Mitsuki said. Mitsuki had felt that just her Balance Breaker wasn't enough and wanted a mode much like her brother's Lunar Cardinal Mode which had pushed that robed demon woman back.

"What about you Issei? What have you been doing? You've been spending a lot of time in the library, Aniki," Mitsuki asked him while grabbing another hamburger steak from the pot.

Issei thought about what to say about his training. He had been working on some magic and with the Calamity Mode of the Boosted Gear. Issei had also been teaching Lily how to use her powers and how to defend herself with some basic hand to hand in addition to mastering his own demonic powers. Issei had wanted to use the same powers that the man and woman had used. Mostly, how to shape and control darkness to his very will. The way that woman had shaped the darkness into a dome and into tendrils as well as the way the man imbued his weapons

"Just the same. Sacred Gear and Demon Powers," Issei shrugged. After all, everyone had surprises and he didn't want to get left out. They all nodded and went back to eating.

* * *

**First Heaven Training Ground, November 25, 2019, 12:30 PM**

"Gughk!" Irina flew into a wall and slid to the ground. Azrael stood across from her not even sweating or panting as she leaned on her scythe. Irina shakily got up using Hauteclere and spit out a few globs of blood. The past month had been brutal for Irina. Raphael and Azrael had increased her training a hundredfold. The spars had been getting more painful. The training of her powers and magic more intense. Raphael and Azrael had determined that she had an affinity for fire and began to teach her how to manipulate it. More than a few times, Irina had come home with her muscles screaming in pain and she always collapsed in bed next to Issei and Rossweisse.

Irina tiredly formed a light disk and threw it at Azrael, who flicked it with her finger causing it to shatter. Irina collapsed on her back. She had lost again and she didn't even make Azrael release even her second pair of wings.

"I *pant* can still *pant* fight!" Irina managed to get out before falling to one knee. Azrael looked at her and sighed. This girl had guts and she respected that but she needed to rest up and heal. Azrael looked at her and she was immediately pinned to the ground. There was no pressure, just a grip that kept her from moving. The flapping of wings filled the training area. Raphael appeared behind Azrael with all fourteen of his wings spread out. Irina had learned a few weeks ago that the Archangels were not at full power. While Azrael had retained most of her power, her siblings were less than fortunate. Raphael looked at Irina and waved his hand. Irina saw all of her bruises fade away and her wounds closing.

"Irina. What have I told you about pushing yourself too hard?" Raphael looked at her with his arms crossed. His green eyes were filled with disappointment. Irina could not bring herself to meet his eyes.

"Not to, Raphael-sama," Irina said quietly. She felt a hand on her head. Irina looked up and saw Raphael patting her in the head.

"You have heart but you don't know when to rest my foolish student," he said with a small smile.

"Come, we must continue your training," he said as he snapped his fingers. Several dummies appeared in the field.

"Dummies?" Irina tilted her head as she looked at the dummies. Raphael and Azrael looked at her smiling before continuing.

"Well, Irina, what we are about to teach you is an old technique that most of the younger angels do not know. Not even Dulio and Griselda. Risa knows it and now you shall as well," Raphael told her. He nodded to his sister, who walked over to a dummy and put a palm on its forehead. The dummy's face exploded in bright light as light poured out of where its eyes and mouth would be. Azrael let go of the dummy and the dummy fell to the ground with the eyes sockets burned out. Irina looked at the technique in morbid fascination.

"That is called smiting, Irina," Azrael said to her as she brushed the imaginary dust off her hands.

"Right, as you can see, this move for you must be a last resort. This is a guaranteed one hit kill so long as the person is equal to you or less than you in power. The effects as you can see is devastating. The more you master this, the less contact is needed. Azrael, please demonstrate," Raphael said. Azrael nodded and shot a quick glance with her black eyes glowing white slightly to a dummy who quickly met the same fate as its predecessor. Irina stood awestruck. While the implications of the weight of such a technique were terrifying, she couldn't help but feel amazed.

"Be careful. As we've said, it will only work on those equal to you or less than you in power. Stronger beings will either require more effort or fail altogether," Azrael reminded her. Irina quickly nodded and walked up to one of the dummies trying to replicate what she had just witnessed. In the end, there were a pile of scorched dummies on one side of the training field and two dummies with their eyesockets successfully incinerated. Irina wiped sweat from her brow breathing heavily as Raphael snapped his fingers. Irina felt energized once more.

Irina hopped on her feet and got back to work on a fresh set of dummies while Raphael and Azrael watched in the background smiling.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, Same Time**

Issei sighed as he put the book down. It had been a few weeks since they started training and he had gotten nowhere. Several high stacks of books on sealing, magical theory, and summoning sat next to him. He was currently in the process of creating a trump card for the Games. Issei turned his gaze to Lily, who was reading a children's book next to Magala, who was currently in the form of a small wolf cub. Magala had taken a great liking to Lily. If Issei had to guess, it would have been to the kinship she must have felt with her due to having extremely powerful siblings. Lily had him and Mitsuki and Magala had Ddraig and Tiamat.

"Lily, you hungry?" Issei asked. He had seen the time on the clock. A little past lunchtime. She put her book down and nodded yes. Issei got up and walked out the door with her following behind holding a Puppy Magala. When they got downstairs, Issei saw his father sitting down on the sofa watching the news. His father spared him a glance and went back to the TV. Issei made his way to the kitchen where he saw his mom sitting on one of the chairs at the dining table. She was mindlessly swiping through the tablet. Her head popped up when she heard someone enter and saw that it was just Issei and Lily.

Issei's mother, Miki Hyoudou, was a woman in her forties that appeared to be in her mid-thirties. She had long brown hair and hazel eyes. It was very obvious who Issei inherited his looks from. Ever since Issei and Mitsuki were born, they had been the very center of their parents' lives. However, when Mitsuki started to show that she was the smarter and more prodigious sibling, she and her husband had slowly started to push Issei into the shadows seeing as he had seemingly no talent in anything. It got worse when Issei became a pervert. While her husband, Gorou, didn't seemingly care and told her that he was just a boy, Miki had taken a more proactive role in correcting her son's behavior. It ranged from light scolding to full-on verbal abuse. There was only one time where she had ever resorted to physical means. It was the time when she saw Issei playing an eroge. Miki had lost it and beat Issei with a belt. It was an action she had never forgiven herself for. It was also the first time she and her daughter had gotten into a fight. Her husband stood there trying to pull them apart. Her gaze drifted to the small redhead currently smiling and laughing by Issei's side. The longer she looked, she swore she saw a small brown haired boy standing in her place.

Issei made himself and Lily a sandwich. As Lily happily ate her sandwich while Magala sat on her lap, Issei began to think. What was he missing? He had all the formulas correct and memorized. Was it the power overlay on the seal that was causing the problem? Perhaps it was projection seals weren't compatible?

_Ugh, why is this so hard?_ Issei thought. He decided to continue it later and made his way out of the basement. Lily was following him closely. Lily. Issei had seen her progressing nicely with her powers. She was now able to lift multiple heavy objects at once and could create a small localized snow storm around her. He, himself, had made progress as well. He had managed to learn how to control the Darkness that the demons used. Issei had asked Az-nee for tips on applications for it and she suggested weapons and constructs. This is where Issei currently found himself. Behind him was a halo of blades formed from pure darkness. Spawning several level 8 enemies, Issei charged them. The enemies drew their blades and ran towards Issei. Issei created a disk and jumped on top of it surfing the air. Issei had also managed to learn "surf" shadows as he had often created a disk of pure shadow and ride it across the room.

Issei saw a projectile heading towards him. He dodged and fired one of his blades at the attacker. The enemy was immediately impaled onto the ground and exploded in a shower of colorful pixels.

_Tch! These guys are nothing!_ Issei thought as he simultaneously fired all of his remaining blades impaling all of them at once. He sighed and sat on the ground.

Issei decided to give the move one more try. Looking at his left arm, he summoned the Boosted Gear. Issei began to concentrate. A large red magic circle appeared in his left arm. Orbiting around it were smaller red circles. Issei slammed his palm onto the ground and a large magical array spread out all over the training field.

Magala, sensing the energy build up, immediately grabbed Lily and teleported them to the control deck. Lily looked at her confused but decided to peer out the window when she used her wing to point to the window.

Issei watched as the circle crackled with power and energy.

_C' mon! Work!_ Issei thought as he concentrated on the results that he wanted. Suddenly, the circle expanded and the outer circles levitated high into the air. A red pillar of light engulfed the entire room causing Issei to close his eyes.

When the light died down, Issei stood there staring at the result with wide eyes. He had done it.

* * *

**Tepes House, 1:35 PM**

Gasper dove to the ground as Valerie fired another dark spell at him.

"Get up Gasper!" she yelled as she readied another spell. Several magic circles appeared behind her and tilted to aim for him. Gasper shakily got up and looked at the circles with fear.

_No! Everyone is counting on me to get stronger!_ He thought. Gasper jumped and transformed into a flock of bats and began to swarm Valerie. Valerie swatted her arm at the swarm of bats but they reformed as Gasper behind her. Her eyes widened as Gasper fired a spell at her back causing her to fly into a wall.

Gasper stared at where Valerie impacted the wall ready for whatever attack she had in store. Suddenly, the ground erupted and several souls flew towards Gasper. He smiled a little. He had managed to get her to use Sephiroth Graal. Gasper dodged the swipes of the souls and fired off several shadow blasts.

He felt something hit him in the back sending him into the air. Gasper righted himself in midair with his wings. Valerie. She stood there smiling at him with a group of spirits surrounding her. The wounds she received were slowly healing.

"Good job, Gasper! But prepare yourself, I will no longer hold back!" she said to him. Gasper readied Forbidden Balor View. Valerie's eyes began to glow green.

"_**I am She who makes the contact with the Unbegotten Source.**_"

Gasper's eyes widened. Crap, she was activating Sephiroth Graal's unique mode, **The Demiurge**.

"_**Oh, She Who Sows, grant me thy power to bless this realm.**_"

Gasper flew towards her determined to get stop her from activating it. He readied several spells and launched them at her.

"_**And to call forth those who have crossed the Veil and into the arms of He Who Reaps**_**.**" As soon as she finished, the world around her fractured as an army of spirits flew from the cracks in reality and towards Gasper. Gasper fired an onslaught of spells dispersing a few of the spirits but the waves were endless.

_Crap baskets!_ Gasper thought as he weaved in an out of the endless horde of ghosts that tried to rip him to shreds. He flew out of the horde's reach with his clothes ripped and several large cuts on his arms and body. He gritted his teeth. There was no way Forbidden Balor View could defeat this army. But he had to try right?

"**Forbidden Invade Balor the Beast!**" Valerie's currently green eyes watched as a dark mist engulfed the entire field but through it, she saw Gasper transform into a massive beast with a humanoid body, wings, and a dragon-like head. Gasper swiped dispersing several spirits with a single swing of his arm.

Gasper summoned multiple eyes across the entire mist stopping the time of nearly the entire army of spirits. Seeing Valerie unprotected, Gasper flew towards her at breakneck speeds. Gasper raised his arm to deliver a devastating blow to Valerie.

_BOOOM!_

The ground beneath them exploded as Gasper watched with wide eyes as several vines restrained him. Around him, the ground began to move and rise forming rock elementals that had green lines of energy running through them.

"I never did reveal the full scope of Sephiroth Graal. I can animate things and am not limited to the dead. As you can see, I also have the powers of an Elementalist," she told him.

"That's enough for today," she said letting out a breath. The spirits dispersed back to wherever Valerie had summoned them from. Gasper's transformation became undone and he fell to the ground breathing heavily. Valerie picked him up and carried him on her back.

"You did well today. I'm surprised your Sacred Gear isn't a Longinus," Valerie commented to Gasper.

"Yeah…", he nodded tiredly prepared to take a massive nap.

* * *

**Lucifer Castle, 2:30 PM**

Kiba parried a blow from the Knight of Sirzechs Lucifer, Okita Souji. Souji sent another attack to Kiba who ducked underneath the blade.

Kiba jumped back and summoned his Sacred Gears, Blade Blacksmith and Sword Birth. His eyes began to glow blue as several weapons appeared in mid-air behind him. Kiba had managed to create more than just swords now. As of right now, he could create spears. He fired the weapons at Souji, who simply dodged and sliced all the weapons that came at him.

Souji smiled as he kept parrying the Kiba's projectile swords and spears. He looked at him and was reminded of a certain forge god who got the short end of the stick. He closed his eyes and entered a stance.

Kiba's eyes grew wide. He had seen that stance when Souji sparred with the other members of Sirzechs' peerage.

_Shit! I have to summon Gram!_ Kiba summoned Gram into his hand. The sword sensed the oncoming attack from Souji and glowed red eager to meet with such a sword.

"_**Mumyou Sandan Zuki!**_" Souji took three steps and appeared in front of Kiba in the blink of an eye. Kiba tried to parry all three attacks with Gram but failed as two of them managed to inflict large wounds on the left side of his torso and one on his left cheek. Souji planted his foot on Kiba's mid torso and kicked him away causing Kiba to skid across the entire field.

Kiba got up using Gram for support. He channeled his energy into Gram.

_No, even if I do this, I won't land a single hit on him. He's too fast for me_, Kiba thought. He suddenly gained an idea.

Souji watched Kiba as he stabbed Gram into the ground.

"**Dragon Knights of the Holy Priest!"** Kiba's dragon knights began to spawn and transform into armor pieces. The armor wrapped themselves around his arms and legs creating jet propellers. Kiba picked up Gram and took a step to Souji. Souji raised his sword to block Gram. His eyes narrowed. Kiba's speed just increased to the point where it matched his own. The two danced around the field parrying and slashing at each other. Sparks flew as the blades met. Kiba jumped back and summoned several swords and spears and threw them at Souji. Souji leaped out of the path of the blades only to be slashed at the back by Kiba.

Souji turned around to slash Kiba with his katana only for it to be thrown out of his hands by a swing from Gram. Kiba levelled Gram at his throat. Souji smiled.

"Your win kid."

Kiba dismissed his Balance Breaker and dropped to one knee.

"Thanks."

* * *

**Leviathan Castle, November 27, 2019, 2:30 PM**

Ingvild concentrated on the pool of water in front of her. Her eyes snapped open and were red with a violet bar in the center of her pupil. Her Longinus, Nereid Kyrie, was active. Ingvild willed the water to move and bend to her will. Behind her, the current Leviathan, Serafall, stood watching her progress. Serafall was impressed by the girl. The girl didn't need to use magic circles to control water and used her pure will. Something she had learned only the Original Leviathan was capable of. However, Ingvild was capable of doing something that not even the Original Leviathan could do. Create water from the air.

Serafall watched as several droplets of water condensed around the violet-haired devil. Ingvild waved her hand and the droplets converted themselves into water spears that launched themselves at the ice dummies Serafall had created. The spears punched completely through the dummies and embedded themselves in the ground.

Ingvild was breathing heavily. She was close. She felt it. But something was missing, something that was key to helping her achieve her Balance Breaker. Ingvild closed her eyes once more and concentrated on her power. She needed to do this. While others may have accepted her, she had not accepted herself. Ingvild needed to prove herself. To show them that they were not mistaken in letting her into their lives. Eden Squad had already proven themselves more of a family than her relatives. Her own parents cared more about their status than their own daughter. After meeting Eden Squad, she had learned that family was not restricted to blood. Blood. These thoughts and emotions triggered something in her.

Her eyes opened again. Behind her, Serafall stood there in awe. Ingvild had just achieved her Balance Breaker.

* * *

**Asgard, November 29, 2019, 4:30 PM**

Rossweisse wiped some sweat off her brow. Across from her stood, a woman with long white hair with a teal accent reminiscent of the night sky. She wore a black mini dress with mithril armguards and mithril greaves. She was Brynhildr, the most powerful Valkyrie in existence. An S Rank Ultimate Class Valkyrie. Brynhildr dug her spear into the ground and walked up to Rossweisse. The young woman had gone up to her and asked her for training.

Rossweisse composed herself and pointed Misteleinn at her.

"**Runic Array: Lifbrasir!**" An array of runes formed around Brynhildr who looked at them. Several green energy blasts fired at Brynhildr who deflected them all with a swing of her spear.

"Rossweisse! Focus more of your power into your runes and magic for greater effect!" Brynhildr barked. A rune formed in midair when Brynhildr brought up her palm.

"**Primal Rune: Wind!**" A gale burst forth sending Rossweisse back several feet. Rossweisse dug her heel into the ground to keep from being swept away.

Rossweisse summoned a red glyph and a blue glyph in her hand. She combined them and aimed it at Brynhildr. A bolt of lightning came from the glyph which exploded the moment it hit Brynhildr.

Out of the dust cloud, Brynhildr's spear came out and pinned Rossweisse to the wall behind her. As she struggled to remove the spear from where it pinned her armor, Brynhildr flickered into existence in front of her.

"**Embargo.**" Several violet runes formed around Rossweisse's arm freezing it in place. Brynhildr removed her spear. She had to admit. The girl was getting stronger. Just a few more years and she would be an extremely powerful Valkyrie. The one thing that irked her was how the girl didn't use her greatest asset: her sealing magic.

"We'll try this again. This time. Feel free to use your sealing magic," Brynhildr reminded her. Rossweisse gulped. Her sealing magic might be great but she felt that it would do nothing to turn the tide of this spar in her favor. Sighing, Rossweisse decided to accept Brynhildr's advice.

Brynhildr pointed her spear at Rossweisse. Violet energy began to arc around the spear's tip as she levitated high into the air. The spear grew in size.

"Rossweisse, I want you to use only sealing magic to defend yourself! **Brynhildr Romantia!**" Brynhildr said as she charged at Rossweisse.

Rossweisse stood there frozen. Her teacher was just about to hit her with her strongest attack. Time slowed as Rossweisse went through several seals that could help her get out of this.

_Barrier Seal? No, won't hold up. Power Draining Seal? Too fast for the seals to drain,_ Rossweisse thought. She had a moment before Brynhildr hit her. She had it now.

"**Continuum Seal: Gate!**" As Brynhildr was about to hit Rossweisse, several runic arrays formed and distorted spacetime. The ground about fifty feet from Rossweisse exploded as Brynhildr hit the ground with her spear.

Brynhildr looked around confused. How did she get on the other end of the field? She looked towards Rossweisse, who stood there surrounded by a runic array. A portal was in front of her. Brynhildr allowed herself to smile. This was going to be fun.

* * *

**Grigori, 6:05 PM**

Mitsuki shot through the air as Penemue followed her closely. Suddenly, the Cadre appeared in front of her and threw a punch. Mituski blocked it causing an immensely powerful shockwave to shake the entire building.

Azazel watched on the sidelines as his wife sparred with the girl who he saw as a second daughter. Azazel spread his own wings. Seven pairs. He was nearly there. Just one more pair.

Mitsuki breathed heavily. Even in the Balance Breaker, Penemue was a hard person to put down. She took solace in the fact that Penemue looked nearly as tired as she did but years of war and training gave her the edge in battle.

"Pen-chan! Let me take over!" Azazel said as he flew over to them. She looked at her husband and nodded. Azazel snapped his fingers and Mitsuki was fully healed and reenergized.

"I'll spar with you, Mii-tan!" Azazel said as he hovered across from her. Mitsuki nodded her visor covered head. This was going to be one of the toughest fights in her life. She flew towards Azazel at inhuman speeds and attempted to kick him. Azazel blocked her kick with one finger.

Mitsuki's eyes grew wide. One finger! Just like that woman. Mitsuki growled at the thought and summoned a massive magic circle.

"**Fallen Down!**" A large energy beam slammed down on Azazel only to disperse instantly as he poked it.

"You'll have to try harder than that Mii-tan," he smiled mockingly. Mitsuki just hovered there with her anger reaching a boiling point. The only other time she had been this angry was when her brother "died" and when their mother beat him for playing an eroge. Something in her changed. Mitsuki felt her power shoot up past her limit.

Azazel felt a massive pressure come down on the arena. He narrowed his eyes at Mitsuki, who was glowing an eerie violet. Her power was skyrocketing and was beginning to match the power of most gods.

"_**Ye who dwell on Creation.**_

_**Are bound and subject to my will.**_

Azazel's eyes widened slightly. A new form like the Juggernaut Drive or Truth Idea?

"_**Obey and be subject to the layout of my Grand Design.**_"

Azazel hovered across from Mitsuki with a smile. She had achieved the next stage of Telos Karma.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, December 27, 2019**

They had split into two teams of three with one person sitting in the control deck to set the environment. Currently, Kiba was the one controlling the environment. The rest of them were currently running around a ruined town in the middle of a jungle. The teams were Issei, Gasper, and Rossweisse with Irina, Mitsuki, and Ingvild on the other.

Irina's team had won due to Ingvild's ingenious use of Nereid Kyrie to slow Issei down allowing Mitsuki and Irina to knock him out.

Issei sat in the control deck with the rest of them facing him.

"Alright. I managed to get Seekvaira to lend you to me for the games, Mii-chan. Kiba, Rossweisse, Gasper, what about you guys?" Issei asked.

"You know my answer Issei. I'm fighting for you," Rossweisse said.

"Same here," Kiba responded.

"I shall as well," Gasper told them. Issei smiled and pulled out two knight pieces, two bishops, two rooks, and a queen piece.

Irina went first. Issei scanned her with the Scroll. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Irina's stats.

**|Whoa! Angel girl got super strong in the span of a couple of weeks.|** Tiamat said inside Issei's head.

**[She seems to be wanting to cement herself as the Alpha Female in Issei's harem of two.]** Ddraig commented. Issei just stared at the stats.

_Name: Irina Shidou_

_Race: Angel_

_H'T: 5'4 (164 cm)_

_W'T: 56 kg_

_Sacred Gear: None_

_Current Power Level: EX+ Rank High Class (Base); BB Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

_Suggested Pieces: Mutated Queen, Knight x2, x2 Mutated Pawns_

Issei grabbed the queen piece and walked over to Irina.

"Irina, will you be my Queen?" Issei asked. Irina nearly fainted at the question. It sounded like a proposal for God's sake.

"Y-yes… I would love to be your Queen, Ise-kun," Irina said with a red face. Issei motioned for her to lie down on the couch. He inserted the Queen Piece. His scroll beeped and he picked it up.

_Eden Squad Members:_

_Kurenai Akagami (King)_

_Irina Shidou (Queen)_

_Other spots open_

Focusing his attention back to the rest, he decided to scan Rossweisse next.

_Name: Rossweisse_

_Race: Reincarnated Devil_

_H'T: 5'8 (173 cm)_

_W'T: 59 kg_

_Sacred Gear: None_

_Current Power Level: SS Rank High Class (Base); CCC Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

_Suggested Pieces: Rook x2, Mutated Bishop x1_

Issei grabbed the Rook Pieces. He wanted to keep Rossweisse's durability to its max allowing her to tank attacks and cast spells at the same time.

"Rossweisse, will you be my rook?" Issei asked her holding out the rook pieces. Rossweisse just nodded with a red face. She lied down and Issei inserted the pieces. He ignored the beeping noise and scanned Kiba.

_Name: Kiba Yuuto_

_Race: Reincarnated Devil_

_H'T: 5'8 (172 cm)_

_W'T: 61 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Blade Blacksmith, Sword Birth_

_Current Power Level: SS Rank High Class (Base); B Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

_Suggested Pieces: Knight x2, Knight x1 + x1 Mutated Pawn_

Issei grabbed a Knight Piece and a mutated pawn.

"Alright Kiba," Issei said.

"No cheesy proposal line?" Kiba teased with a smirk. Issei stared at him blankly. Kiba chuckled and laid down on the couch.

Next was Gasper. Issei scanned Gasper with the scroll.

_Name: Gasper Vladi_

_Race: Reincarnated Devil_

_H'T: 4'11 (150 cm)_

_W'T: 40 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Forbidden Balor View_

_Current Power Level: SS Rank High Class (Base); CC Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

_Suggested Pieces: Bishop x1, Bishop x1 + 2 Pawns_

Issei grabbed a bishop and four pawns and repeated the process with Gasper. After that Issei scanned Ingvild. He wasn't surprised by what he saw. He figured that she would be nearly as strong as Vali since they were both descendants of the Original Devil Kings. Issei snorted. Apparently, the original Lucifer had nothing on the true Lucifer.

_Name: Ingvild Leviathan_

_Race: Devil/Human Hybrid (False Cambion)_

_H'T: 5'6 (171 cm)_

_W'T: 55 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Nereid Kyrie_

_Current Power Level: EX- Rank High Class (Base); BB Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

_Suggested Pieces: Bishop x1 + 1 Mutated Pawns + 2 Pawns_

Issei grabbed the pieces and repeated the process with Ingvild. Finally, Issei came upon his twin sister. She smiled at him. He nodded and scanned her.

_Name: Mitsuki Hyoudou_

_Race: Reincarnated Devil_

_H'T: 5'6 (172 cm)_

_W'T: 55 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Telos Karma_

_Current Power Level: EX+++ Rank High Class; EX++ Rank Ultimate Class to CC Rank Deity Class (Full Power)_

Everyone's jaws dropped. What did Mitsuki go through with Penemue and Ambriel? She smiled and winked.

_Suggested Pieces: Knight x1 + 2 Mutated Pawns + 2 Pawns_

Issei finished inserting the pieces into his sister and looked at the scroll.

_Eden Squad Members:_

_Kurenai Akagami (King)_

_Irina Shidou (Queen)_

_Yuuto Kiba (Knight)_

_Rossweisse (Rook)_

_Gasper Vladi (Bishop)_

_Ingvild Leviathan (Bishop)_

_Mitsuki Hyoudou (Knight)_

"Ne, Ise-kun? What's your power level?" Irina asked. He smiled and handed her the scroll. She scanned him and her jaw dropped. Everyone except for Issei walked over and looked at the Scroll. Their reactions were the same. Issei just looked at them snickering. On the scroll, it said:

_Name: Issei Hyoudou_

_Race: Unknown_

_H'T: 5'7 (175 cm)_

_W'T: 63 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Boosted Gear_

_Current Power Level: EX+++ Rank High Class (Base); BBB Rank Deity Class (Full)_

_Suggested Pieces: All of them_

"We are so going to win," Mitsuki said after composing herself. Issei just nodded. They were going to win. Their little band of misfits would go and take the gold right in front of the Supernatural World.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Object 1490**

**Object Name: Nereid Kyrie**

**Object Type: Neo Longinus Sacred Gear**

**File: Nereid Kyrie is a Neo Longinus Sacred Gear. It grants the user power over water and dragons. The gear itself is only visible once active but even then it is hard to identify the user until its effects are occurring. While active, the user's eyes become red and the pupils become black with a violet bar in the middle. its current possessor is Ingvild Leviathan.**

**Object Class: Class 2**

**Current Wielder/Owner: Ingvild Leviathan**

**Notes:**

**Isran McConnell: The user's eyes become as red as blood.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Object 1276**

**Object Name: Sephiroth Graal**

**Object Type: Longinus Sacred Gear**

**File: Sephiroth Graal, also known as the Holy Grail, is one of the Holy Relics. It has the ability to touch the very concept of Life itself granting the user power some power over it. The user is able to reanimate the dead, animate inanimate objects, and access the Veil. Its current possessor is Valerie Tepes.**

**Object Class: Class 2**

**Notes:**

**Cornelius D'Arc: Most beings who possess this gear are often contracted by the Unbegotten Source.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 234**

**Primal Class: While the GPS contains Five Universal Classes, we at Blacklight possess two extra classes. One of those is the Primal Class. Primal Class is used to classify ten beings who have existed since before the Dawn of all Creation.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 476**

**Subject Name: [Redacted]**

**GPS Ranking: Primal Class Being**

**File: Also known as the Unbegotten Source, [Redacted] is the Primordial Embodiment of all [Redacted] in Creation. Secretive cults have worshipped her since the dawn of the world. She is the polar opposite of [Redacted] who is also known as He Who Reaps. Some sources say that she is the one who helped create the Sephiroth Graal.**

**End File**

* * *

**The chapter is over! The first round happens next chapter! The team's current GPS rankings are their post-training ranks. Have a great day or not! The choice is yours!~**


	14. Round One Fight!

**Pyre: Hah! Two chapters in one day! A treat! I hope you all like who I put as the first round match. I put all their names in a bowl and the name was the one I drew from it.**

**Irina: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release!~**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Lucifaad, January 21, 2020, 11:30 AM, Current Time: 5 minutes and 15 seconds til Midnight**

Issei, under his Kurenai Akagami persona, walked through the streets of Lucifaad. The Colt was holstered onto his left. He had been told by Azazel and Azrael that the Demons were going to be here during the Games as participants. Next, to him, Irina walked wearing her exorcist cloak and Hauteclere was strapped to her waist.

Earlier that day, Issei had gotten a notification on his Scroll that said that the first matches would happen today. Issei heard his scroll beep again.

_Round One Matches:_

_Team Rias Gremory vs Team Mammon_

_Team Sona Sitri vs Random Participant 1_

_Eden Squad vs Team Asgard_

_Team Riser Phenex vs Random Participant 2_

_The Hunters of Artemis vs Random Team 3_

_Team White Dragon Emperor of the Morningstar vs Random Team 4_

Issei scrolled through the list of participants. He sighed. They were fighting Team Asgard first. Issei tapped on the team name. Team Asgard.

_Team Asgard_

_Thor Odinson (King)_

_Sif (Queen)_

_Brynhildr (Knight)_

_Volstagg (Rook)_

_Fandral (Bishop)_

_Hogun (Knight)_

_Korg (Rook)_

_Miek (Bishop)_

_Hildr (Pawn)_

_Thrud (Pawn)_

_Ortlinde (Pawn)_

Thor. The guy who lent him Mjolnir so that he could defeat Loki. That's who he was fighting first?

**|Thor was always an honorable god. However lately, Thor has been off his rocker so to speak.|** Tiamat spoke as she read through the list with Issei.

Ddraig and Issei were confused. Off his rocker?

**[What do you mean?]** Ddraig asked his mate/wife.

"_Yeah, what do you mean off his rocker? Should we be worried?"_ Issei asked her.

**|Worried? No. Ab-nii said that he was after some guy named Noobmaster69.|**Tiamat told them.

"_Wait, Noobmaster69? That's Sensei's gamer tag,"_ Issei said to them.

**|What games does he play?|** Tiamat asked. She was curious after all.

"_Super Smash Bros., Pokemon, Fortnite, Spiderman, Terraria, Minecraft, etc."_ Issei said, _"He mostly uses the tag, FallenAngelMan435. The gamer tag, Noobmaster69, is for Fortnite."_

**|Ew. He plays Fortnite? Fortnite is for children and virgins. I'm more of a Minecraft girl though I play other games like Smash and Apex Legends.|** Tiamat told them.

Issei silently laughed. Ever since Tiamat was sealed inside of him, she began to dote on him much like Penemue did from time to time. In addition to that, he and Tiamat had a lot in common. Both would do whatever they needed for the people they loved. For her, it was Ddraig, the brood in Wales, and her adoptive older brother, Abzu. For Issei, it was Irina, Rossweisse, Eden Squad, and his sisters.

Ddraig smiled at the interaction between his mate and his host. They had gotten along splendidly. Tiamat doted on Issei much like a mother or an older sister.

"Hey, Ise-kun," Irina's voice brought him out of his mental conversation.

"Yeah," he responded.

"Who are we up against?" she asked.

"Thor."

"Really? Michael-sama said that he was after Noobmaster69 but doesn't know that Azazel-sama is the one he's looking for."

"I know right. Hey Rin…"

Irina looked at Issei. Rin. That was his old nickname for her. He had recently started to call her that name again.

"Mmmm," she responded.

"You ready for this?"

She looked at him with a determined smile and nodded. Several magic circles appeared and the rest of the team appeared behind them. Issei smiled at them and reopened his scroll.

_Eden Squad vs Team Asgard_

_2:30 PM_

_Azazel Stadium_

Their first match was in 3 hours.

"Alright, guys. Any plans. We're up against Thor who has some of the toughest warriors of Asgard on his side," Issei said. The others looked at him deep in thought.

"Um, I have a plan," Ingvild said. They all turned to her. She began to explain her plan to them. The more she explained it, the wider their smiles grew.

"This is going to be fun," Mitsuki remarked after hearing Ingvild's plan. The others turned to her and smiled.

This was going to be very fun.

* * *

**Leader's Box, 12:45 PM **

Sirzechs and Grayfia watched as Rias was fighting against the Mammon Heir. She was doing pretty well and those boys held their own but their opponent was weak. Next, to him, the other leaders sat. Yasaka was currently talking with Risa. It turns out that they were childhood friends. He saw Odin looking at him.

"Hey, Sirzechs, where is Issei-boy?" Odin asked him. The other leaders also turned to look at him. Sirzechs turned to the other leaders of the Biblical Faction for help. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel just looked away whistling. Azazel was currently napping on Penemue's shoulders while Shemahazai and Baraqiel looked at him and shrugged. His fellow Maou were no help and Grayfia was too busy keeping their son entertained.

"Yes, Stand In Lucifer. Where are Ddraig and his host?" an emotionless voice asked from the back. Everyone stiffened. They knew the owner of that voice. The leaders turned to see a small girl with black hair and dark grey emotionless eyes wearing a gothic lolita outfit. It was Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity.

"Ummm, Rias decided that Issei would be a last resort weapon?" Sirzechs said. The other leaders looked at him strangely. That answer sounded more like a question than an actual answer.

"You don't know? The Great Dragon is coming and you have no idea where he is," Ophis said her gaze boring into Sirzechs.

"What Sirzechs means is that Rias is keeping the fact that Issei is on her team a secret. Issei is her secret weapon after all," Azrael said in a matter of fact tone as she brushed Lily's hair. Ophis turned her gaze to the Archangel and nodded.

The other leaders nodded and accepted her explanation and returned their attention to the match.

Sirzechs just sat there replaying Ophis' words in his head. Specifically, the part where she mentioned the Great Dragon.

_Was she... scared? No, Ophis is one of the strongest beings in existence. She can't be scared of an Angel,_ Sirzechs thought as he turned his attention back to the game.

* * *

**Azazel Stadium, 2:30 PM**

"A complete wipeout by Team Rias Gremory! As expected by the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess and her peerage! Though the Red Dragon Emperor had yet to make an appearance this entire match, these new additions have completely made quick work of the opposite peerage," a purple-haired man said. This was Naud Gamigin of House Gamigin.

"Let's see what our special guest has to say. Allow me to introduce the Princess of the Grigori, Ambriel!" he gestured to the black-haired, purple-eyed Fallen Angel sitting next to him.

"Her strategy was flawless I'll say that much. But the fact that she didn't use her strongest piece to end the match quickly. Where is he anyway?" Ambriel said. She had developed a slight loathing for the Gremory Heiress. Slight was the wrong word. Absolute.

"Great question! Perhaps she is saving him as a trump card?" Naud said. Ambriel nodded as she looked at the team.

"Ambriel-sama, are you participating in the Games?" Naud asked.

"Yes. I do hope to meet the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess on the battlefield," Ambriel said with a sinister smile on her face. Her violet eyes were slightly glowing. Naud began to sweat.

"Well, thank you for that. Now, we shall announce the next match: Eden Squad vs Team Asgard!"

* * *

Issei and the others were teleported onto a massive city battlefield. They looked around and saw massive skyscrapers surrounding them.

"I don't recognize this place," Irina said. The others nodded. They all looked around for anything familiar. Rossweisse saw a massive bronze statue of a man with fire in his palm.

"Um, guys. We're in Manhattan," Rossweisse said. The others turned to see the iconic statue of the Rockefeller Center before them.

"_Alright! This match between Team Asgard and Eden Squad will take place in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The battle will go on until the rival king has been eliminated. You will be given a ten minute grace period to get a plan in order," Naud announced._

"Ten minutes. We'll need to revise the plan to account for the terrain," Ingvild told them. They all nodded and huddled around her. Ingvild told them of the revised version of the plan and they all nodded. Issei smiled. Ingvild was quickly becoming the team strategist.

A large bang signified that the ten minutes were over.

"Alright everyone you all know what to do!" Issei said.

"Roger!" with that they all scattered leaving Issei and Kiba alone. The two nodded and began to run along 51st street. According to Irina's familiar, Thor's team was situated in the Manhattan Bridge.

* * *

Irina and Rossweisse flew over the Manhattan Skyline scouting for enemies. She turned to Rossweisse who nodded. Rossweisse created a light blue magic circle and began to scan for signatures.

"I have five headed to Mitsuki, Ingvild, and Gasper, two headed for Issei and Kiba, and four heading in our direction," Rossweisse said. Irina looked deep in thought. Ingvild's intuition had been spot on. Thor did split his forces to deal with them in accordance with their level of power.

"Of the energy sources I sensed, Lord Thor and Lady Sif are headed for Issei and Kiba," Rossweisse told her.

"Ingvild was right. Thor would go for the strongest one," Irina summoned Hauteclere and swung it at an energy blast headed their way. The energy blast was sliced in half and exploded harmlessly behind Irina and Rossweisse. Rossweisse drew Misteleinn.

Across from them stood four women. Rossweisse recognized Brynhildr due to her oversized spear. The other three she knew as well. The hooded one with black hair and red eyes was Ortlinde. The one with pink hair and red eyes was Hildr. Finally, the one with blonde hair and red eyes was Thrud. These three were the famous Valkyrie Triplets who rivaled the three eldest Valkyries, Brynhildr, Eir, and Sigrun.

"Irina, these four won't go down easily. You have any new tricks up your sleeve," Rossweisse asked her.

Irina smiled at her.

"Hehe! Of course," Irina smiled as she leveled Hauteclere towards them.

"Rossweisse. I see that we are meeting on the battlefield for real," Brynhildr said as she raised her spear.

"It is an honor Milady to fight you in real combat," Rossweisse responded pointing Misteleinn at her.

"Oh, my apologies Miss Angel. May I have your name?" Brynhildr asked Irina. Irina went silent. Issei had an alias that he used so she should use one too. Also, Ingvild had told them all not to use their real names. Irina went through several names and finally thought of one. It helped that she was still wearing her cloak.

"My name is Seraphina, Queen of Kurenai Akagami. It is an honor to face you in combat, Arch-Valkyrie," Irina/Seraphina said to her.

"Seraphina… I've never heard of you. Very well, may the odds be in your favor for this battle," Brynhildr signaled for Thrud, Hildr, and Ortlinde to introduce themselves.

"I am Ortlinde, Valkyrie of Asgard and Retainer of Lady Freyja," she bowed.

"I am Hildr, Valkyrie of Asgard and Vassal of Lady Sif," Hildr curtsied to them while hovering.

"I am Thrud, Valkyrie of Asgard and Retainer of Lord Tyr," Thrud bowed.

"Well, let us not waste any time," Brynhildr said after the triplets introduced themselves. She readied her spear and charged followed by the three Valkyries. Irina and Rossweisse responded in kind and met their charge head-on.

* * *

Mitsuki felt a shockwave and looked upwards. She saw Irina and Rossweisse fighting four people.

"Mitsuki, they're here," Gasper said as he readied his shadows. Ingvild had several water spears surrounding her.

"Ah, lassy, there ye all are," a man with fiery red hair and beard carrying an ax landed in front of them cracking the ground underneath.

"Now, Volstagg, that's no way to speak to a trio of ladies," a blonde haired man with a light beard stepped out. He was wearing dark clothing and brandished an officer's sword.

The man named Volstagg looked at him dryly.

"Let him have his fun," an Asian man carrying a mace, "and Fandral, there are only two women here. The other one is a boy that's cross-dressing."

The man named Fandral immediately turned green.

"Don't worry about Fandral. He's the most serious out of us. The asian guy is Hogun. Oh, my name is Korg," A rock elemental said as he dropped from the roof. An insectoid being landed next to him carrying what looked like a rifle.

"This is Miek, he doesn't talk much. Well, not in the way you understand," Korg said as he introduced Miek.

"Well, let's finish this. Then, we can get back to hunting down that treacherous Noobmaster69," Volstagg said as he lifted the ax off the ground.

"How about we let them introduce themselves," Fandral said to his companions. Honestly, they and Thor were too obsessed with this person whoever they were.

Up in the leaders' booth, Azazel sneezed.

The three were snapped out of their trances as they watched the eccentric group in front of them. One by one, they introduced themselves to their opponents. Ingvild had Issei change their names on the registration to keep them anonymous.

"My name is Alucard," Gasper said bowing, "Pleased to meet you."

"I am Isabel Lucross," Ingvild said curtsying, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"My name is Aoi Akagami," Mitsuki bowed.

"Well then, shall we get on with this?" Ingvild/Isabel said.

"Let's. En Garde!" Fandral leaped towards Ingvild only to be met by Mitsuki. The battle between them had officially begun.

* * *

Kiba and Issei stood by a fountain in Central Park waiting for someone to arrive. Kiba was skipping rocks by the water and Issei was busy fishing coins out and tossing them back in. The sound of thunder reverberated throughout the entire city and a bolt of lightning crashed down in front of them. Two people stood before them. A man with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes with a beard wearing armor and a red cape stood before them. Next to him was a woman with midnight black hair and silver eyes. She wore dark clothing and held a three-foot-long silver sword in her right hand.

"I assume you are the king of this group," he pointed to Issei.

"Yes, I am Kurenai Akagami. This is Taki Aozaki, my Knight," Issei introduced both him and Kiba to their opponents.

"Kurenai. I am Thor, Son of Odin and God of Thunder. You may know me online as the Legend27," Thor introduced himself but was smacked on the back of the head by his female companion.

"Ignore this idiot. My name is Sif. Queen of this Peerage. It shall be my honor to fight you," Sif said bowing.

"Very well then, Kurenai Akagami. Prepare yourself," Thor held out both his hands and two weapons flew into them. Issei recognized one of them. It was Mjolnir. The other one looked like a cross between a hammer and an ax.

"I see you admire my new weapon, Stormbreaker," Thor said. Issei nodded and summoned Boosted Gear in Calamity Mode.

"Is that the Boosted Gear?" Sif asked. Issei shook his head.

"I call it the Chaos Gauntlet. It was gifted to me by the Chaos Karma Dragon Tiamat," Issei said. Thor and Sif nodded.

"Well, then. Shall we begin?" Sif asked.

"Yes, let's," Kiba said summoning several floating swords behind him. The two pairs charged at each other to begin their battle.

* * *

"Wow, this Kurenai doesn't know what he's getting into!" Odin laughed. This boy was fighting the Norse God of Thunder. This would be an easy win for Thor. The other leaders agreed with Odin.

Azrael looked at the field and then to Odin. She smirked.

"I wouldn't count of that just yet," she said.

"Oh, and why not?" a blonde haired goddess spoke. She was Freyja, Norse Goddess of Love, War, and Death.

"_**The three pawns of Thor have been eliminated.**_" Ambriel's voice announced.

"!?" every god stared in shock at the screen.

"That's why," Grayfia said this time. Lily and Millicas were jumping and cheering. The other deities were shocked. What the hell! Who were these damn kids!?

* * *

Irina parried a blow from Ortlinde and dodged a slash from Hildr. From behind her, Thrud attempted to thrust her spear into Irina's back only for Irina to seemingly flicker out of existence and appear behind her.

Irina hovered a few feet away from them. When the battle started, Rossweisse had immediately singled out Brynhildr. This left her with the Valkyrie Triplets. Irina created two halo discs in her left hand and threw them at the Valkyrie Sisters. The three scattered. Irina smirked. She had planned this. Snapping her fingers, the Halo Discs exploded into several small light needles.

Ortlinde felt a white-hot pain as several needles embedded themselves on her back. She turned around and saw Seraphina brandishing a glowing blue sword. Ortlinde brought up her shield to block the attack. A small shockwave emanated from the blow. Ortlinde grit her teeth. This angel was strong. Very strong to be able to fight all three of them at once. She grinned when she saw Hildr appear behind Seraphina ready to kick her. What happened next shocked her.

Irina was currently locked in a deadlock with Ortlinde. The girl just wouldn't budge. She poured her power into Hautclere making it glow brighter. Irina became confused when she saw the Valkyrie in front of her grin. Why was she grinning? Her eyes grew wide when she felt every hair on the back of her neck stand. Irina turned around and saw Hildr ready to drive the pommel of her spear into her back. Acting quickly, Irina's eyes glowed purple and Hildr was pushed back by a force causing her to impact the top of a skyscraper. Turning her gaze back to Ortlinde and seeing her shock, she took advantage of it and pushed against her at full force. The Valkyrie staggered in mid-air and Irina kicked her in the stomach sending her into the building below them.

Thrud watched as the Angel Seraphina knocked both her sisters away with only a few attacks. She narrowed her eyes. This wasn't your average angel and this girl was hiding the number of wings she had. If she had to guess, Thrud estimated that this girl had at least three pairs of wings. Shaking her head, Thrud charged at the Angel only for the Angel to parry her spear and deliver a devastating roundhouse to her side. Thrud was sent careening into a nearby skyscraper.

"Tch," Thrud walked out of the rubble wiping some blood from her mouth and holding her side. She could see her sisters all coming out of their crash sites. A look of understanding passed between them. She looked at Seraphina and without warning, she flew towards her simultaneously with her sisters.

Irina readied herself as an onslaught of attacks came from all sides. She parried, blocked, and countered but she was slowly losing ground. Ortlinde thrust her spear cutting Irina's side. Irina responded by slashing her leg with Hauteclere. Next, to her, Thrud bashed her with her shield followed by Hildr swinging her spear. Irina managed to narrowly dodge the spear leaving a light cut on her cheek. She was starting to get tired. Fighting all three was not an ideal situation. She began to think through a list of things she could use for crowd control. An idea came to mind. Irina poured light energy into Hauteclere extending its blade and flew towards them.

The Valkyrie Sisters blocked her swing using their shields. Seeing the attack left her open, the three charged towards Seraphina with the intent of ending it all.

Irina watched as she staggered backward in the air as the three sisters came flying towards her. She let out a smile and opened her palm.

Ortlinde's eyes grew wide when she saw a bright light coming from the angel's vacant hand. She tried to warn her sisters but it was too late. The last thing she remembered was a burning sensation and a bright light.

Rossweisse and Brynhildr were locked in a deadly dance of magic and combat. Rossweisse dodged the swipe of Brynhildr's lance and unleashed a torrent of lightning and fire towards her mentor/older sister. Suddenly, she felt a heat wash over her and turned her attention towards Irina. Rossweisse covered her eyes as a large flash of light engulfed the sky. Brynhildr did the same as well. When the light died down, the two stared as Thrud, Ortlinde, and Hildr were falling to the ground unconscious. They had burns all over their bodies. Their bodies faded into particles of light. An announcement was heard all over the arena.

"_**The three pawns of Thor have been eliminated.**_"

Brynhildr looked at the Angel. There was now no doubt in her mind that she was very powerful. Ortlinde, Hildr, and Thrud were CC-Rank Ultimate Class Valkyries on the GPS. Who was she?

_No, now's not the time. I have two of them to deal with now,_ Brynhildr thought as she faced both Rossweisse and Seraphina.

* * *

Fandral slashed at a shadow spear sent to him by the little vampire. He prepared to dropkick him only for the girl, Aoi, to block it with her forearms. A few minutes ago, there was a bright flash of light and an announcement that said that the Valkyrie Triplets had been eliminated. They were losing against these guys.

Mitsuki launched several magic spells at Fandral. The Asian man, Hogun, sent his own onslaught of spells at her. She saw the spells freeze in time allowing her to get out of the way.

"Thanks, Alucard," she said. Gasper nodded and focused his attention back to the three people in front of them. Mitsuki had studied them before. They were known as the Warriors Three. The most elite warrior force in Asgard and answered only to Thor and Sif. Mitsuki looked over to Ingvild. The girl seemed to be doing alright fighting the insectoid and rock elemental. She was surrounded by a swarm of water sharks that attacked Korg and Miek if they got to close.

"Time to do this," Mitsuki said. She summoned several magic circles behind her. One red. One blue. One yellow.

"Alucard! I need you to distract them for me," Mitsuki said to Gasper.

"Right!" Gasper summoned several shadow bats to swarm and attack the Warriors Three. Gasper himself flew into the air and rained down a torrent of shadow spheres on them.

Mitsuki began to combine and swirl the magical energies together. The air began to crackle around her as the energies began to grow more and more intense.

Ingvild's own battle wasn't easy. The rock elemental and insectoid used a high-frequency magical rifle. She ordered her sharks to head in their direction. The sharks obeyed and began to swarm Korg and Miek. Miek used his insect appendages to slice through the sharks and Korg used his brute strength to destroy them. Ingvild activated her Sacred Gear.

"**Water Dragon Whip!**" Several water tendrils assaulted Korg and Miek forcing them back and into the waiting maw of the sharks. Korg survived thanks to his Elemental Physiology but Miek wasn't so lucky.

"_**Bishop of Thor has been eliminated.**_"

Korg looked to see Miek being retired by the system with several bite marks and wounds.

"No! Miek!" Korg yelled. He turned his gaze back to Ingvild, who began to regroup her sharks and tendrils. "You'll pay for that!" He charged at her breaching her defenses and deliviered a devastating punch to her stomach.

"Gughk!" Ingvild flew right through a wall and landed on a pile of clothes. She got up clutching her stomach and focused her blood red eyes on her target.

_Should I use it? No, now's not the time,_ she thought. Ingvild focused on her surroundings. She felt it all. The blood spilled onto the floor, the water flowing from the broken, and the blood flowing from her own wounds. Her eyes began to glow.

"**Blood: Eradication!**" a sphere of solid blood formed above Ingvild's palm. She fired it at Korg.

Korg saw a small bullet sized sphere of blood fly out and impact him in the chest. He watched as Isabel walked out clutching her stomach with one hand and her other arm outstretched.

"Sorry, Korg-san," she said as she closed her fist. Korg watched as the bullet sized sphere of blood exploded, a red shockwave of energy emanating from the blast. Korg fell unconscious and disappeared into a shower of lights.

"_**Rook of Thor has been eliminated.**_" Ambriel announced once more.

Fandral watched as Korg and Miek dissolved into lights. He grit his teeth. This was not going as planned. He had underestimated these kids. To his side, Volstagg didn't look like he could take more. That girl was still charging her attack as well. Hogun looked at him and nodded.

Hogun charged at Aoi, who looked at him. Her body flickered as he completely missed his attack.

"!?" his eyes grew extremely wide.

_What was that!? How did I possibly miss that attack!?,_ he thought.

Mitsuki had resorted to using Telos Karma to dodge that attack. Just a few more seconds and her spell would be ready. She watched as Gasper was now struggling to keep away both Fandral and Volstagg.

_C' mon Gaspy! Just a bit longer!_, Mitsuki thought.

Gasper dodged as if his life depended on it. He was never a big fan of pain being a hiki-NEET for nearly his entire school life. His training with Valerie had relieved some of that. However, this wasn't Valerie. These two didn't hold back. Gasper jumped as Volstagg swung his ax and transformed into a flock of bats to avoid a thrust from Fandral.

Gasper fell to one knee breathing heavily. He had never had to move this much before. As he was catching his breath, he saw Fandral walking towards him with his sword pointed at his face.

"Nothing personal, Alucard. You'll be our first elimination for the game," Fandral said. Gasper closed his eyes ready to be retired. Suddenly, a tendril made of red liquid wrapped itself around Fandral and threw him through a wall. Volstagg whirled around to see Isabel/Ingvild surrounded by three water dragons. Gasper took advantage of this and formed a shadow blade and shoved it into Volstagg's back. Volstagg screamed in pain and turned around to drive his ax into Gasper. As he swung his ax, a brilliant flash of light enveloped the world.

Mitsuki watched as Volstagg swung his ax towards Gasper. She grit her teeth in frustration. Her spell was just one second away from completion and Ingvild was now busy fending off Hogun and Fandral. Suddenly, she felt the spell reach full power.

"**Materia Expulsion!**" the world was enveloped in white.

* * *

Ambriel and Naud covered their eyes as a bright light emanated from the arena. The entire stadium began to shake violently due to the power of the blast.

"I don't know what's going on folks but it seems that one of the competitors unleashed a large scale destructive spell!" Naud yelled.

The leaders watched in awe as the light engulfed the entire city. Grayfia held onto Millicas while Azrael grabbed Lily. The entire box was shaking. As the light died down, an announcement was heard.

"_**A-a Bishop of Thor, a R-rook of Thor, and a Knight of Thor have been e-eliminated**_," Ambriel announced. The shock in her voice was clear. Below them, a massive portion of Manhattan had been reduced to ruins.

* * *

Irina, Rossweisse, and Brynhildr lowered their shields and saw a massive crater. They had heard the announcement but what happened to the others.

_Mitsuki, Gasper, Ingvild. Dear Lord, please let them be safe,_ Irina prayed. Rossweisse put a hand on her shoulder. Irina gave her a smile and returned her attention to the fight.

Issei uncovered his eyes and looked towards where his sister, Ingvild, and Gasper's energy signatures were. Next to him, Kiba lowered the barrier he had set up.

"That was Mitsuki," Kiba said looking at Issei. Issei nodded and felt for the energy singature of his sister, Ingvild, and Gasper. He sighed in relief.

"They're still there," Issei said relieved to see his sister and the others were fine. He raised the Calamity Boosted Gear to block Thor's attack. He saw Thor grinning at him.

"Your love for your sister is admirable. It reminds me of when Loki, Hel, and I used to play Get Help. However, you can't afford to lose focus. Not now," Thor said as he applied more pressure on Stormbreaker pushing Issei back. He looked to see Kiba locked in a deadly dance with Sif. Issei grinned. He wasn't going to lose. Not here.

* * *

Ingvild lowered the water shield she had put up around herself and Gasper. She had activated her Balance Breaker to strengthen the shield in order to survive Mitsuki's attack. She saw Mitsuki breathing heavily and ran over to her.

"Did you *pant* see that?" she said between pants.

"That was awesome, Senpai!" Gasper said with stars in his eyes. Ingvild looked at her with a smile on her face. It was very effective despite the fact that they almost got eliminated in the process.

"Let's go help Aniki," Mitsuki stood up after a few minutes of Ingvild fixing most of her wounds.

"Right!" the two said as they all took off towards Central Park.

* * *

Irina was knocked away by the swing of Brynhildr's spear. The Valkyrie had been fighting harder now that those three names were announced. She flew away as fast as she could from the beam of energy Brynhildr had sent their way.

"Any time now Summer!" Irina said. Despite, Brynhildr immediately recognizing Rossweisse, she did have an alias. Her alias was Summer. Summer Rose.

"Just a few more seconds!" Rossweisse yelled back. Irina parried another swing from Brynhildr.

"Well, Seraphina, it has been an honor fighting you but I believe that it is time to end this," Brynhildr said as she flew higher into the air. She pointed her spear at Irina.

"**Brynhildr Komedia!**" A massive beam of energy flew towards Irina. Tim slowed down as she watched the energy beam slowly approach.

_No, I won't lose here. I was saving this for when I needed it but now…_," Irina thought as she began to pump power into Hauteclere. The sword began to glow and the blade began to grow longer. Irina slashed the sword at the energy beam and became locked in a deadlock with Brynhildr.

Brynhildr watched as the girl blocked the energy blast of **Brynhildr Komedia**. The only other one who could do that was her lover, Sigurd. She admired the girl's tenacity as she began to pump more energy into the attack.

Irina felt the pressure from the blast get heavier. She poured more power into Hauteclere as she began to slowly push back against the attack.

"Seraphina, get ready!" she heard Rossweisse yell. She slightly turned her head and saw a massive magic circle formed behind Rossweisse.

"Move!" Irina swung Hauteclere to give her enough clearance to avoid the energy beam. The beam impacted the far end of the city destroying it in an instant.

Rossweisse raised her hand and the circle began to spin rapidly. Her eyes glowed blue and a dark blue aura surrounded her. She let out one word and all hell broke loose.

"**Shattered Heaven!**" In an instant, several large meteors came down from the sky and began to head for Brynhildr.

Brynhildr looked up to see several massive meteors falling in her direction. She turned to Rossweisse and smiled.

"I guess this is your win. But don't expect me to just go down without doing anything," Brynhildr flew towards the meteors at breakneck speeds. She swung her spear shattering two of the meteors. One of the meteors impacted her back and exploded. The explosion triggered all of the other meteors. Brynhildr turned her gaze towards Irina and Rossweisse and smiled. She closed her eyes and lapsed into unconsciousness as she dissolved into a shower of lights.

Irina saw the hail of meteors hit Brynhildr and cause her to retire. She looked to Rossweisse with her mouth agape. Rossweisse just looked at her smiling as if nothing happened.

"_**T-the final Knight of Thor has been eliminated**_," Ambriel announced.

* * *

Everyone watching was dumbstruck. This girl on the field just summoned a hail of meteors to eliminate one of the strongest Valkyries in existence.

Odin just stood there with his jaw dropped. Who were these guys? They just defeated some of the best fighters in Asgard.

Azrael sat there smiling. Her siblings were smiling as well. They would go far and get even stronger than they are now. Her thoughts turned back to the impending doom that everyone was currently ignoring. Would they be enough? Ophis didn't seem to think they had a chance even if she and Great Red came in and helped based on her tone earlier. They weren't even at full power yet. How could they possibly defeat their older sister? A hand was on her shoulder. She turned to see her twin with a serious look on his face. An unspoken conversation happened between them and she turned her attention back to the match.

* * *

Issei blocked an attack from Sif that was aimed at Kiba. Kiba jumped over Issei and brought Gram down in a downwards slash. Thor appeared and parried it with his hammer Mjolnir. The two pairs flew apart and landed ways across from each other. They had been at it for a while. Thor and Sif were sporting wounds but Issei and Kiba didn't look any better. Kiba had multiple cuts all over him and Issei has a massive bruise forming on his side from the impact of Mjolnir.

"Well, it seems that we're down to our last legs," Sif said.

"Yes, I guess it's time for us to get serious," Thor replied as his eyes began to glow blue. Lightning arced all over his body as he raised Stormbreaker. Lightning struck the hammer and Thor pointed it towards Issei and Kiba.

A massive bolt of lightning erupted from the blade of the ax-hammer. Kiba and Issei narrowly dodged the bolt. Behind them, the bolt pierced several skyscrapers causing them to collapse shaking the entire arena.

"Kiba, I'll give you some cover. Go try to take out Sif," Issei said as he readied Boosted Gear.

"I'll go on your mark," Kiba replied as he readied several swords behind him.

Issei nodded and slammed his hand down on the ground.

**|Calamity!|** The ground beneath Thor erupted in a torrent of magma. Issei saw him fly into the sky and pointed his finger at Thor.

**|Calamity!|** The air around Thor began to swirl into a cyclone.

"Hah! Using a storm against a storm god!" Thor said as he dispelled the storm.

"That was just a distraction!" Thor's eyes grew wide at Issei's words and turned to see Sif being pushed back by Kiba.

* * *

Kiba made a beeline for Sif the minute the ground underneath Thor exploded. He swung Gram hoping to catch her off-guard but she managed to deflect his attack in time. He leaped back and willed several of his swords to fire directly at Sif.

Sif saw the swords fly towards her and erected a barrier. The swords bounced off harmlessly and she jumped towards Taki. Sif thrust her sword towards Taki only for him to deflect it. She felt a warm liquid run down her back. The boy had cut her. She smiled. No one on Asgard outside of the Gods had inflicted a wound on her in hundreds of years.

"Well done boy," Sif said as she lowered her sword.

"Thanks," Kiba said.

"Shall we finish this," Sif said raising her sword.

"Yes, let's finish this," Kiba said breathing heavily.

"**Él Skálm!**" A massive ring of blades formed behind her. Kiba just looked on in shock.

"You thought you were the only one who could do this? I derived this technique from the Forge God, Hephaestus," Sif said. Kiba swallowed hard. This woman also took inspiration from the Greek Forge God.

He formed his own ring of blades. Kiba leveled Gram at her.

"Let's see who has the better blade," Kiba said running towards her. Sif responded in kind and they began clashing blades. Every swipe was met with a block and counter while the two would occasionally dodge a sword shot towards the other. Kiba felt an energy signature approach from the sky and swung Gram with all his strength.

A light disc was headed towards Sif. She was just staggered by that Knight. Sif raised her sword to slice the disc only for it to be wrapped in a water and shadow tendril. The light disk suddenly caught fire and impacted her.

The others had arrived and landed next to Kiba. Kiba looked at them and gave them a look of thanks. The sound of footsteps brought their attention back to Sif. She walked out of the smoke with some burns and her left sleeve was completely incinerated. Most of her clothing was in tatters.

"You're fighting for your victory well Knight. I can see now that you have reinforcements that I cannot win. Victory is yours," Sif said with a bloody smile as she fell to the ground unconscious.

"_**Queen of Thor has been eliminated!**_" Ambriel announced.

"All that's left is for Issei to defeat Thor," Ingvild said as she healed Kiba. Kiba and the others nodded and looked up to see a massive flash of fire and lightning.

* * *

Issei felt pain as Thor hit him with Mjolnir sending him hurtling towards the Empire State Building. Issei flew out of the rubble and his eyes turned black. A massive lightning bolt streaked towards him and he unleashed a torrent of black fire. The two attacks clashed for dominance but the bolt won out and Issei was forced to dodge.

**[Issei, you have to use the Lunar Cardinal Mode!] **Ddraig said.

**|I'll synchronize it with my power so that no one will notice it as a part of the Boosted Gear.|** Tiamat told him as she began to feed him power. Issei smiled inwardly at his two partners.

"**|Calamity Breaker: Catastrophe Lunar Emperor Mode!|**" Issei and Tiamat announced at once. Issei was now covered in pitch black armor with blue gems decorating his chest plate and pauldrons.

Thor stared as Kurenai was covered in black and blue armor. Suddenly, he felt the air get knocked out of him and saw Kurenai's fist embedded deep into his stomach. Kurenai sent Thor flying through several buildings before finally landing on the road. Thor got up using Stormbreaker as support.

"**|Abyssal Blue Flare!|**" A stream of black and blue flames headed for Thor. Thor channeled lightning to Stormbreaker and threw it towards the flames. The spinning ax completely cut through the fire.

Issei saw the ax headed towards him and thrust his other hand forward. The ax froze in mid-air momentarily allowing Issei to dodge. He then turned and blocked Thor who swung Mjolnir sending Issei to the ground.

Issei landed on his feet and saw Thor holding out his hand. Stormbreaker flew back into it.

**|Calamity!|**

The entire area was devastated by a massive windstorm that Thor had a hard time dispelling. Issei blurred in front of him and delivered an upward kick to Thor's jaw sending him higher into the sky. Issei appeared behind him ready to drive his elbow into the God's back only for Thor to turn around and slam Mjolnir into his injured side.

Issei screamed in pain as he was hit by a massive lightning bolt from both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.

"You may have eliminated my peerage but all I have to do is defeat you to win the game. Before we finish this, tell me your real name. I promise that no one will hear," Thor said casting a silencing spell.

"Issei. Issei Hyoudou," Issei said to Thor. He honestly had fun fighting the God. It was the best fight he had in a while other than the ones his sister or Vali could give.

"Ah, the Red Dragon Emperor. No wonder your team was strong," Thor mused. He raised Stormbreaker and Mjolnir and pointed them to Issei. A massive amount of lightning was drawn from the sky and began to focus on the tips of the weapons.

Issei raised his hands ready to defend himself. He began to summon both Ddraig and Tiamat's power.

"This next attack will decide who will win!" Thor said as he kept charging his attack.

Issei responded with a grin and began to finish charging his as well.

The rest of Eden Squad watched as Thor and Issei's power kept rising causing the ground to shake.

"RAAAHH!" Thor roared as he unleashed the biggest lightning bolt in the history of lightning bolts.

"**[|Eternal Flames of the Red Emperor and Blue Empress of Domination and Chaos!|]**" Issei shouted with Ddraig and Tiamat's voices mixed in. A massive torrent of black fire with red and blue mixed into it streamed out of Issei's hands and met the lightning bolt head on. The two attacks fought for supremacy but Thor's bolt began to gain ground pushing Issei back.

"Dammit! Ddraig, I need you to Boost me!" Issei said to Ddraig.

**[On it!]** the red dragon responded.

**[Boost x 10!]**

The flames grew in power and pushed Thor's bolt back. Thor sensing this poured more power into the bolt eventually gaining the upper hand once more.

Issei began to tire and the bolt began to get harder to push against.

**|Don't give up hatchling!|** Tiamat urged.

**[Yes, partner! Remember why you want to win!]** Ddraig roared. Issei's eyes grew wide as a series of images flashed through his head.

Rias and the girls cheating.

Him removing his pieces.

Forming Eden Squad.

Meeting Lily.

His kiss with Rossweisse.

His kiss with Irina.

"'Issei. You can do it!'" Irina and Rossweisse's voices rang in his head.

"HAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Issei began to call upon his Miasma and combined it with Ddraig and Tiamat's power.

Thor felt the flames suddenly push back and begin to overpower his bolt. He tried to pour more power but found that he couldn't push it back. Eventually, the flames overpowered the bolt and consumed Thor. The last thing he saw before getting knocked out was a panting and smiling Issei.

"Not bad kid," he said as he was retired by the game's system.

"_**The King, Thor Odinson, has been eliminated. Victory goes to Eden Squad!**_" Ambriel announced.

Issei smiled and began to fall from the sky. He felt someone catch him and saw Irina and Rossweisse supporting him with smiles on their faces. The group was teleported out of the arena.

* * *

"Well, Odin, a flawless victory. It seems your son underestimated Kurenai and his team," Sirzechs said smirking. The god grumbled under his breath as he pulled out some money and handed it to Sirzechs.

"What did he tell Thor anyway?" Freyja asked.

"We don't know. Thor cast a silencing spell," Athena said next to her.

* * *

Issei woke up lying on the hospital bed. He turned and saw the others looking at him. Everyone had bandages on and Kiba's arm was in a sling.

"We won…" Issei muttered.

"WE WON! OW!" Issei said clutching his side. Everyone laughed and Issei pouted. His friends were so mean.

"To Ingvild! She's the one who came up with this strategy that let us win!" Irina said. Ingvild began to look down and blush.

"Well, the plan wouldn't work without all of you working together. It was all of us that one the game," she said twiddling her fingers.

"Look at her. She's so modest," Kiba said. They all laughed.

"Let's get some rest guys. Our next match could be in a few days," Issei said. They all nodded and sat down around Issei's hospital talking about possible ideas for the next game.

* * *

**Unknown Location, 10:30 PM**

Akeno appeared in front of a decrepit mansion and walked in. The guards at the entrance bowed.

"Lord Beelzebub. She has been expecting you," the guard said. Akeno's eyes turned yellow.

"Well then, why are you wasting my time," Beelzebub barked at the demon guarding the door.

"My apologies milord!" the guard bowed out of fear.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood," he said as he walked in. When he reached the upstairs living room, he saw a woman with long flowing white hair with the bangs styled in an upwards ponytail. Her eyes were a piercing blue and she wore a black dress with a black ribbon around her neck.

"My Princess, all is going according to plan," Beelzebub said kneeling on one knee. The woman looked at him and stood up.

"You've done well, Lord of Gluttony," she said in a silky, mature voice. Beelzebub puffed up at her praise.

"What shall be done with the First?" he asked. She kept her gaze on him.

"The same thing that is being done with the others. Under no circumstance is he allowed to die," the woman said.

"Forgive my impudence, but why milady?" Beelzebub asked her. He was confused as to why the boy should not be killed if he resisted.

"Are you questioning me!?" she said. Her eyes had turned black and blue. Beelzebub backpedaled away from her in fear.

"No! No, my princess!" Beelzebub begged for forgiveness.

"Good. Now leave. Acquire the last three," she ordered. Beelzebub nodded and teleported back to Lilith.

"I'll see you soon, Issei-chan," the woman said staring out the window smiling a soft smile as she stared at a photo of her and a five-year-old Issei.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 346**

**Subject Name: Thor Odinson**

**GPS Ranking: CC Rank Deity Class**

**File: Thor is the Norse God of Justice and Lightning. He is the famous god who is depicted wielding the hammer Mjolnir. He is the son of Odin and Frigg and the younger brother of Hel, Norse Goddess of Death, and the brother of Loki, Norse God of Trickery, Serpents, and Magic. As of right now, Thor is the current heir to Asgard's throne with the death of Loki and Hel's refusal to take it. Thor leads a band of warriors consisting of a rock elemental named Korg, an insectoid named Miek, Sif, and the Warriors Three. Thor spends a lot of his time online as the gamer known as TheLegend27 and mostly streams games such as Call of Duty, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Minecraft, and Fortnite. Rumor has it that he is actually Pewdiepie.**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: Hell of a fun guy.**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you all like the chapter! For those of you who want to be sure of your guesses, Thor, the Warriors Three, Sif, Korg, and Miek are from MCU. Brynhildr, Ortlinde, Hildr, and Thrud are from the Fate Series. Remember review, fav, and follow the story. Make it a great day/night or not! The choice is yours!**


	15. The God of Victory

**Pyre: We hit a milestone guys! This story currently has 100+ favs and 100+ follows. Thank you for supporting this story, everyone! You guys really are the best audience on the internet. As a thank you, after I post this chapter, I'll follow and favorite all of you and your stories! (If you wrote any that is!) Also I got you all wiki pages for the characters mentioned so far in the story! Just don't read these:**

**Lucifer (Midnightverse)**

**Life**

**Death (Midnightverse)**

**Gremory**

**Cosmic Entities**

**The rest is free game! **

**Here is the link!**

**Just go the DxD Fanon Wiki and search up CrimsonSOng. I'll also put a link in my profile.**

**Also if you want to edit it with information from the story, please PM me first! Thanks!**

**Let's get on with the show!**

**Irina: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release!**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Lilith, January 25, 2020, 4:26 PM; Current Time: 5 minutes and 05 seconds til Midnight**

Issei and Rossweisse walked down the streets of Lilith holding hands. Issei still had his Kurenai Akagami persona on while Rossweisse had her Summer Rose persona. Irina was called away by Michael, and Gasper and Kiba were being summoned for contracts. Mitsuki had volunteered to stay at Kuoh to check on Ichika and Houki as well as the group that had followed them to Kuoh. The school was now much more chaotic with their arrival. Issei had let the two use the Garden of Eden as a place to hide from the literal horde of yanderes that had followed them.

"Issei, are you alright?" Rossweisse asked him gazing at his face. Issei looked at her beautiful turquoise eyes. He nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. Ahead of them, Lily ran around with Magala perched on her shoulders. The various shopkeepers of Lilith loved the little girl. She wasn't like the children of the 72 pillars who demanded everything of them for free. Lily often talked to the elderly devils who owned shops and played with the local children. Playing with Millicas really brought her out of her shell. Sure she had nightmares and episodes, but those were few and in between.

"Big Brother!" Issei snapped out of his reverie and saw Lily walking towards them with Ingvild. Ingvild had volunteered to help Issei watch Lily while he and Rossweisse looked around.

"Lily don't bother your brother. He is on a date," Ingvild said to her with a smile.

"Eh? Date? Aren't they married already?" Lily asked tilting her head. Ingvild stifled a laugh with her hand.

"No, they're not. Though, they might be soon," Ingvild winked at Issei and Rossweisse. The two looked away and blushed.

* * *

Vali and Kuroka walked behind Bikou, who was holding a massive bag of ohagi that he was currently eating. Kuroka walked with her hands behind her head and a bored look on her face. She felt the gazes of the male devils on her body as she walked down the street.

_Perverts. Only Ise-kun can look at my body like that, nya,_ Kuroka thought. Vali glared at the male devils causing them to pale and look away. He suddenly felt the familiar energy of the Boosted Gear.

"Issei is here," Vali said beginning to walk in the direction he felt the energy. Kuroka hearing this followed him. Bikou seeing that his friends were already off in the distance jogged to catch up with them.

"Oi! Why'd you guys ditch me!" Bikou said indignantly chewing on an ohagi. Kuroka looked at him and sighed. He could be so annoying sometimes.

"Vali sensed Ise so we're going to go find him," Kuroka said with her ear twitching and her tails were waving in excitement. Vali kept walking until he saw a figure wearing a black hoodie that hid his face. He was talking to that Valkyrie from the Gremory peerage. How the people on the street didn't know who she was was a miracle in and of itself. In front of them were two people he didn't recognize. There was a girl with long violet hair, orange eyes, and wore a violet hoodie with a white skirt. She felt familiar somehow. Not that he knew her but more her energy. There was also a little girl wearing a simple pink blouse and brown shorts.

Vali walked over to the hooded man and greeted him.

"Hyoudou."

Issei turned as soon as he heard the name. He saw Vali, Kuroka, and Bikou standing there. He grumbled under his breath. Of course, Vali would immediately recognize him by his energy. Issei suddenly felt something crash into him knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. Issei groaned and felt his hoodie getting wet. He lifted his head and saw Kuroka hugging him for dear life.

"Kuroka, please get off me," Issei said trying to pry the nekomata off of him. She shook her head.

"No! You'll disappear again!" she yelled into his shirt. Issei looked to Vali for help. Vali sighed and signaled for Bikou and Rossweisse to help him get Kuroka off Issei. After five minutes of struggling, Kuroka was now off Issei. Vali, Bikou, and Rossweisse were having their wounds treated by Ingvild, who had now introduced herself. Vali was happy to see a descendant of the Original Maou that wasn't some psychotic being hellbent on retaking the Underworld.

"Kuroka, Issei's alright," Rossweisse said patting her shoulder. The neko turned to her with her ears drooped and her eyes watery. Issei sighed and walked over to her. He wiped the tears off her eyes.

"Please don't cry Kuroka. I'm here and okay see?" Issei gestured to himself. Kuroka nodded and did something. Ingvild's eyes grew wide and immediately covered Lily's eyes, who began to protest. Vali and Bikou just stood there with their mouths open at the sight. Rossweisse began to give a strained smile with her eyebrow twitching.

Issei's eyes widened as Kuroka captured his mouth in a kiss and began to prod at his mouth with her tongue for entry. He relented, leaned into the kiss, and allowed her to explore his mouth. They eventually broke apart for air with a trail of saliva connecting them. He turned to see Ingvild covering Lily's eyes, Vali and Bikou giving him a thumbs up, and Rossweisse smiling a sickly sweet smile.

Issei immediately began to back away and hit something. Irina was there as well smiling. In her hands was Hauteclere and it was drawn from its sheath.

"W-wait! Wait! Rin! It's not what it looks like!" Issei said raising his hands in defense. Irina opened her eyes. They were no longer the warm violet eyes he loved. They were blank and devoid of emotion.

"Oh, and what does it look like Ise-kun?" she said taking slow menacing steps towards him. Her eyes widened slightly when Kuroka stepped in front of Issei with her arm out.

"Stop! I won't let you hurt him!" Kuroka said. A red aura was surrounding her entire form. Her eyes changed color. Her left eye became green.

Irina sighed and put Hauteclere back in its sheath. Kuroka seeing this powered down. She motioned for Kuroka and Rossweisse to follow her. The two girls looked at each other then shrugged and followed her.

Irina led Kuroka and Rossweisse into an alleyway. She then stopped and turned to Kuroka.

"Tell me honestly Kuroka. How do you feel about him? In the past, you've just spouted about Issei was only good for reviving the Nekomata race. I want the honest truth not that revival crap," Irina told her with a serious look on her face. Kuroka looked taken aback. Did she really come off as only wanting to use Issei as a sperm bank?

"I love him…" she said quietly but enough for them to hear. Irina and Rossweisse raised their eyebrows motioning for her to elaborate.

"He reunited me with my sister. The same one who cheated on him and hated me for years. He saw through my mask easily where others never did. I love Issei because he sees me for myself. Not Kuroka the Black Cat. But Kuroka, the big sister who gave everything up to save their little sister. The fact that he went out of his way to repair my relationship with Shirone cemented his place in my heart, nya," Kuroka gave them her heartfelt confession. Irina was smiling at Kuroka. She looked to Rossweisse, who had a similar look on her face. A look of understanding passed between the two girls and they turned their gaze back to a nervous Kuroka.

Kuroka was nervously awaiting their response. She loved Issei and didn't care if she had to share him. As long as she had his love, she was fine.

"Kuroka, Rossweisse and I have agreed to let you into Issei's little harem of three. But remember, hurt Issei and we'll be having roast cat for dinner understood?" Irina said with a smile on her face. Rossweisse inched away from Irina while Kuroka nodded with a pale face.

"I wonder what the girls are talking about?" Issei said as he played with Lily. Magala was sleeping peacefully on his lap.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me?" Vali replied. They were currently watching Bikou unsuccessfully hit on Ingvild, who just looked at him with a kind smile. Issei looked to see Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka walking back towards them.

"Issei, take care of Kuroka," Irina said as she nudged Kuroka towards Issei. Kuroka, for the first time, had a blush on her face. Issei realized what had just happened. Irina and Rossweisse had accepted Kuroka into the harem.

"Yeah," was all Issei managed to get out. The conversation turned to the Games. Vali's team had easily won their first victory against some random Sacred Gear Wielder and his crew. Vali Team also didn't know who they were fighting next. A beeping sound went off and Issei and Vali immediately grabbed their scrolls.

_Eden Squad vs Victory Star_

_January 26, 2020, 12:00 PM_

_Agreas Stadium_

"Hey, Vali. Do you know who the team, Victory Star, is?" Issei asked his rival.

"The old man told me that it was a team lead by the Persian God of War and Victory, Verethranga. Why? Is that who you're fighting against?" Vali replied.

"Yeah, must be having a streak of bad luck if our second opponent is also a God," Issei said with a sigh, "What about you? Who are you fighting?"

Vali handed Issei his Scroll and Issei read the match details.

_Random Team vs Team White Dragon Emperor of the Morningstar_

_January 26, 2020, 4:00 PM_

_Armaros Coliseum_

"Hmmm. Looks like you have another easy fight," Rossweisse asked.

"Yeah, let's see the team members, " Vali said taking back the scroll and tapping on the team name.

_Random King_

_Random Queen_

_Random Knights x2_

_Random Rooks x2_

_Random Bishops x2_

_Random Pawn_

Issei whistled. A full house? Maybe they would give Vali's team a run for their money.

"We haven't had to use any of our trump cards yet so I hope that keeps going," Vali said, "What about you?"

"Our identities haven't been revealed yet so we're fine I guess," Issei told him.

**{Vali, ask him about the new energy in the Boosted Gear.}** Albion said. Vali nodded.

"Hey, Hyoudou. The Boosted Gear feels different. What did you do to it?" Vali asked him. Issei looked at him and summoned the Boosted Gear. The Gem turned blue and a female voice came from the Gear.

**|Hello, Albion.|** Tiamat said. Divine Dividing appeared on Vali's back.

**{Tiamat. I see that you are now sealed inside the Boosted Gear. How did that ever happen?}** Albion asked her.

**|The whelp and I got into a fight because I tried to kill him to free my Ddraig!|** she said happily.

"Oi, don't make it seem like that was fun," Issei said to her dryly.

**|Come now, Issei-chan. We all benefited from it in the end.|** Tiamat said to her host.

**[Yes, partner. You have new powers and I'm reunited with my mate.]** Ddraig said causing half of the gem to turn green.

"Yeah, I just wish you two would tone it down in there," Issei said. The two dragons went quiet while Albion laughed at the three. Vali silently chuckled.

"Oh right, I have to see who were up against!" Issei said bringing the conversation back to the tournament. He tapped on the team name and saw the team roster.

_Verethranga (King)_

_Mithra (Queen)_

_Darius (Rook)_

_Xerxes (Rook)_

_Cyrus (Bishop)_

_Amestris (Bishop)_

_Mazdak the Younger (Knight)_

_Hassan (Knight)_

_Rashnu (Pawn)_

Vali looked at Issei's scroll. They really did have some bad luck. Some of the Persian Pantheons top dogs were on that team. With Mithra as the Queen and Rashnu as the Pawn, that must be how they were able to get some of the greatest figures in Persian History.

"Good luck, Issei. Don't get eliminated before you get to the finals," Vali said getting up.

"Where are you going?" Issei asked.

"To train. While I'm confident that I can defeat my opponents, I can be too cocky. It's always good to be prepared for the unexpected," Vali told him. He turned to Kuroka and Bikou.

"You two! It's time to go!" Vali said to them.

Kuroka, who was busy talking to the other girls and fawning over Lily, nodded to Vali and walked to him. Bikou was already at Vali's side.

"Ise-kun! Leave some of Gremory's peerage to me, nya," Kuroka said with a sadistic smile before disappearing in a magic circle with Vali and Bikou. Issei shuddered at her smile. Her smile promised so much pain. Issei turned to the others.

"Time to prepare. We're fighting the God of Victory tomorrow!" Issei said with a grin.

* * *

**Agreas Stadium, January 26, 2020, 12:00 PM**

"Well folks, the next match we have is the underdog team, Eden Squad versus Victory Star lead by the God of Victory, Verethranga! As you know, our special guest announcer for the second half of Round One is Lady Yasaka, Queen of Kyoto!" Naud announced.

"Thank you, Naud," Yasaka said in a regal voice.

"What do you think of this team, Yasaka-sama? How do you think they will do against a team led by the Persian God of Victory?" Naud asked.

"I personally think their journey in the Games will end here today but you never know," she said.

"Well, to remind you all. Both Eden Squad and Victory Star have 3000 points for advancing to the second half of Round One," Naud said bringing up the scoreboard.

"Well then, let's get started with the match," Naud said returning his attention to the arena.

* * *

Eden Squad opened their eyes as they saw themselves on a seemingly abandoned island. In front of them was a jungle with a few mountains. An announcement was heard throughout the stadium.

"_Today's third match will be between Team Victory Star and Eden Squad. For the arena, we are on an abandoned island. Like the first match, there will a ten minute grace period for each team to devise a strategy. Your ten minutes starts now!" _Naud announced.

Ingvild began going through a million plans a second. She had one but it would not guarantee them a victory. They would at least lose a few pieces.

"Alright. Our opponent is the Persian God of Victory meaning that this man is very adept in the art of war. He most likely watched our previous match with Thor and will not underestimate us as they did. The entire competition now knows we're a formidable team filled with powerhouses that compliment each other. They won't waste their time. Once the Grace Period is over, they'll most likely gun for Issei to take him out quickly," Ingvild explained. The others nodded.

"Mitsuki and I will stay with Issei to ensure maximum protection. Irina, lead the rest to take out anyone that's headed our way. We have to play a game of block and counter. Our strategy will be mostly defensive as we cannot afford to lose Issei," Ingvild said. They all nodded. A chime resounded signaling that the grace period was over. They all scattered with Ingvild and Mitsuki standing next to Issei.

"Why'd we send Irina off?" Mitsuki asked. Ingvild looked at her.

"Other than us, Irina is the strongest piece on the board. We can use that to spearhead an assault on any advancing teams they might have sent. The fact that they're in a jungle allows us to throw them off. The Persian Pantheon is mostly situated in the Middle East which is comprised mostly of arid areas. There is no doubt Verethranga will account for it but the fact that he and his peerage aren't used to such conditions is something we can use to our advantage. We have some knowledge of fighting in jungle terrain due to our simulator back at home," Ingvild said to the twins. The twins nodded and readied themselves for whoever would come out.

* * *

Irina had split them up with her and Kiba hopping from tree to tree and Gasper and Rossweisse setting traps all over the forest perimeter. Irina sensed something up ahead of her. She thrust her palm forwards and a hail of arrows floated in midair before them. Kiba saw this and launched several swords flushing out two people. They were two men. The first man had brown skin typical of those who grew up in the Mediterranean Climate. He had short brown hair and hazel eyes. The man was wearing a black ceremonial armor decorated with gemstones. The man next to him had the same complexion. He had slightly longer hair and had green eyes. His clothing consisted of a blue robe and he carried a book in his left hand.

"Well, it seems that people these days do have a sense of skill," the bow-wielding man said sitting on a branch. The man holding a book nodded at his comment.

"My name is Xerxes, Rook of Lord Verethranga," the bow-wielding man said.

"I am Cyrus, Bishop of Lord Verethranga," the book-wielding man said, "May we know who we are fighting."

"I am Seraphina, Queen of Kurenai Akagami," Irina said introducing herself.

"I am Taki Aozaki, Knight of Kurenai Akagami," Kiba said introducing himself.

"No hard feelings kids but we're going to win this," Xerxes said drawing back the string on his bow. Irina and Kiba responded in kind by drawing their weapons.

* * *

Rossweisse and Gasper finished setting the last trap. The traps that they laid out were a series of concealed magic mines, teleportation traps, and sensors all over the forest leading to their side of the island.

"Alright, Gasper, I finished my side," Rossweisse said over a CC.

"Me too. I'm heading ba-!" the signal cut off. Rossweisse immediately grew worried.

"Gasper! GASPER!" Rossweisse said over the dead link. Suddenly, her instincts screamed at her to defend herself and she raised a magic barrier deflecting an onslaught of attacks.

Two people walked out of the brush. One of them was a woman with black hair and a tanned complexion. She wore white and green robes that hugged her curvaceous figure. Her companion was a man with grey hair and wearing black robes. His complexion was lighter than the woman's.

"Your friend is currently occupied by our friends," the woman said.

"You didn't introduce yourself," the man said.

"Oh, please forgive my rudeness. My name is Amestris, Bishop of Lord Verethranga," Amestris bowed before the Valkyrie.

"I am Mazdak the Younger, Knight of Lord Verethranga," he said.

"Summer Rose. I am the Rook of Kurenai Akagami," Rossweisse said drawing Misteleinn.

"Ara ara dear. Are you sure you can take us alone?" Amestris said. Rossweisse grit her teeth and summoned several magic circles.

"**Primordial Rune: Blaze!**" Rossweisse yelled.

* * *

Gasper dodged a blow from a gargantuan of a man. The man who had attacked him a black skin and had yellow tattoos all over his body. He had yellow eyes with a yellow gem at the center of his forehead. In his hands were two maces decorated with gold.

"Darius, don't go overboard," a woman walked from the brush. She had violet hair and dark skin. She wore a black form-fitting outfit that was open in the middle allowing Gasper to view her well-endowed chest.

"Allow me to apologize for his behavior," she said.

"It's nothing. We're in a fight after all," Gasper said.

"You already know Darius the Great. I am she who is known as Hassan of Serenity. One of the Assassins of the Old Man of the Mountain. Please call me Serenity," Serenity said introducing herself.

"I'm Alucard," Gasper said.

Darius growled and began to shake. Serenity looked at him and sighed.

"GRAAOOOOO!" he said to her. She nodded and said.

"Fine, but don't kill him," Serenity said as she leaped onto a tree branch and sat down.

"Umm, can you not hit me that har- OKAY!" Gasper said as he dodged a mace that was slammed down on the ground.

* * *

Issei stared at the dust cloud that came in Gasper and Rossweisse's direction. It looks like they had encountered the enemy. He sensed Irina's energy spike and turned to her direction. He saw her burst from the tree line with four of her five pairs released dodging several spells.

"Aniki, they're here," Mitsuki's voice caught his attention and made him turn his voice to where she was looking. There were three figures descending from the sky. One was a person with blue hair with a child-like build. Next to him on his left was a woman with red hair wearing a white tunic. On his right was a man with blond hair and brown eyes.

"Ah, the man who beat Thor," the blue-haired man said, "The gods have been scrambling to figure out who you are."

"Really?" Issei asked.

"Yes, Father has been sending people to figure out your identity," the woman said drawing shapes in the sand with her feet.

"I'm Kurenai Akagami. This is my sister and knight, Aoi Akagami, and my bishop, Summer Rose," Issei said. The boy smiled.

"I am Verethranga. The redhead is my Queen, Mithra, and the blonde is my Pawn, Rashnur. We are the Three Judges of the Persian Afterlife," he said.

"Are you prepared to fight us, Akagami-san?," Rashnur said as a flame appeared in his palm.

Issei responded by summoning Boosted Gear in Calamity Mode. Next, to him, his sister summoned Telos Karma and Ingvild activated Nereid Kyrie. The battle was about to begin.

* * *

Irina dodged another arrow from Xerxes and returned fire with her own light disc. Xerxes rolled out of the way and drew three arrows and fired them at her. Irina raised her hand causing the arrows to freeze in midair. This battle wasn't so difficult but Irina knew better. This man was holding a bow enchanted by the God of Victory so he was holding something back.

Xerxes smiled. Angel or not, this girl was a seasoned warrior from the looks of it.

"Time to kick things up a notch," he said as a gold fire began to take shape by the drawstring of the bow. He let loose a hail of flaming arrows. Irina saw multiple golden flames in the shape of arrows coming towards her. She erected a barrier of light but after several arrows, the barrier was broken causing Irina to start deflecting the arrows with Hauteclere. Several arrows were able to cut her across her arm, face, and torso.

"Ojou-chan! You finished up there!" Xerxes yelled in her direction. Irina grit her teeth in frustration. That last attack damaged her more than she thought. She saw Kiba heading for Xerxes and grinned. Irina channeled light into Hauteclere elongating the blade and charged towards Xerxes.

Xerxes' eyes grew wide as the girl flew towards him at extreme speeds. He notched an arrow and prepared to take her out with a well-placed shot when he saw a flash from the corner of his eyes. He narrowly dodged the blade of the Knight of Akagami. Where the hell was Cyrus!?

"**Absolute Flame of the Omnipresent God**," he heard Cyrus's voice call out. Kiba and Xerxes split apart as a massive cascade of green fire burn through the entire jungle.

"Oi! Cyrus, you almost hit me you bastard!" Xerxes screamed at him as the forest around him burned. Cyrus floated above him unamused.

"I'll take the angel, you take the devil. I can fight her on even grounds," Cyrus said as he levitated to Irina's level.

"I'll be your opponent starting now," Cyrus said as a black ball of energy formed in front of him.

"**Destruction Beam**," he said as the beam fired and flew towards Irina. Irina reacted quickly and used Hauteclere to intercept it. She felt the pressure from the beam pushing her back. Irina pushed light into her sword.

"**Sacred Sword!**" Irina said as she swung Hauteclere with all her might producing a swathe of gold energy. The energy wave fought the beam for dominance but the two were equal in power and the attacks produced a massive explosion. The shockwave was felt throughout the entire island uprooting the trees within their vicinity.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes as smoke blocked his vision. He suddenly raised his hand producing a barrier as Irina appeared and slammed the blade of her sword down on the barrier. The barrier began to crack under the queen enhanced strength of Seraphina. The barrier suddenly shattered and Cyrus felt a foot dig into his stomach and he was sent hurtling into the burning forest floor.

Kiba sliced apart an arrow and sent an onslaught of swords at Xerxes. The man barely dodged the attack but a sword managed to inflict a massive cut on his side. Xerxes fell to one knee clutching his side. He grinned. This was pain. Xerxes began to pour more and more energy into his palm. While he preferred to use a bow, he did know magic. He knew he that if he took another hit, the Knight would eliminate him.

Kiba sensed a massive amount of mana being collected in the direction of his opponent. Fighting in a burning forest was difficult and the fumes were starting to get to him. He needed to finish this before he passed out from the smoke and the system would retire him. He needed to use it. He had developed it from training. The fully unleashed power of Gram. The first time he used it he had been bedridden for three days but now. He needed a way to take out Xerxes and hopefully Cyrus.

"**Dragon Knights of the Holy Priest!**" Kiba covered himself in the armor of his Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker. He sped his way towards Xerxes at breakneck speeds.

"!?" Xerxes' eyes grew wide as Kiba seemingly flickered into existence in front of him.

_Shit! I have to use it now! _Xerxes said as he raised his palm.

"**Localized Explosion of Rebirth!**" he said as a small sphere of green energy fired from his palm. The entire arena was engulfed in green light.

* * *

Naud had to hang onto his seat as the shockwave was felt from the arena. The walls began to crack under the strain of the blast. The members of the audience screamed as the magical barriers separating the arena from the Rating Game Dimension began to strain and crack.

Up in the Leaders' Box, Sirzechs and the Satans mobilized to reinforce the barrier. The explosion died down and the island arena was reduced in size. Half of the island was now gone. Reduced to atoms by the magical attack of the Knight of Verethranga.

* * *

Xerxes panted heavily as he stared at the part of the island that used to exist. The ocean moved to fill in the massive crater that now existed. He shakily and began to walk towards the direction that Cyrus and Seraphina had flown off to when he froze. Was that an aria he heard? No, he defeated the boy. But then why hasn't there been an announcement?

_Shit!_, he thought.

Kiba had barely dodged that massive blast. While he avoided it, the heat and shockwave from the blast gave him severe injuries. Kiba now sported massive third-degree burns and the shockwave threw him into the ocean. Kiba had managed to fly out of the water. Blood flowed from his open wounds as his entire body screamed in pain when Kiba raised Gram over his head and prepared the throw it like a spear.

"_**O' Demonic Sword of the Sun**_," Kiba chanted. He saw several arrows fly in his direction. Whatever was left of the armor from his balance breaker, Kiba willed them to become knights to shield him from the arrows.

Xerxes needed to stop him. He pulled the bowstring back and a golden arrow made of fire appeared.

"_**With this Blade, give rise to destruction!**_" Kiba continued his chant.

_This one! This will be the one to defeat him!_ Xerxes thought as he released the arrow.

"**Bölverk Gram!**" Kiba threw Gram like a javelin and a wave of turquoise energy consumed the flame arrow. Gram, in its energy form, split into multiple projectiles that hit Xerxes on all points of his body. Xerxes screamed in pain and looked up to see Kiba in front of him with his fist reared back. His fist was coated in blue-green crackling energy.

Kiba drove the fist into Xerxes' chest and a massive beam of energy engulfed the Knight retiring him from the match. The ground behind him was turned into a massive trench causing the ocean water to move in to fill it.

"_**Rook of Verthranga has been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

Kiba smiled a bloody smile. He looked towards the direction where Issei was.

_Good luck, Issei. I don't think I can make it through the rest of the match,_ Kiba thought as he fell unconscious and was retired by the Rating Game System.

"_**Knight of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

* * *

Issei shoved Verethranga back when he heard Naud's announcement. Kiba had been eliminated?

"Now's not the time to get distracted boy!" Verethranga said summoning a massive sword and swinging it downward. Issei's body reacted on instinct and a shield made of pure darkness blocked the sword's blow.

Issei willed the darkness to form a sword and grabbed it. His training with his darkness over the past few months had advanced to the point where he could make crude weapons and barriers but nothing on the level of those two demons.

He blurred in front of Verethranga and slashed him with the dark sword. Verethranga blocked it and the two were locked in a deadlock with Verethranga slowly winning.

Issei's eyes shifted to black and pushed back with all of his strength shattering Verethranga's shattered sword. The god's eyes grew wide as he stared at his broken blade. Issei took advantage of the momentary distraction by delivering a devastating left hook with his gauntlet covered fist. A sickening crunch was heard as Verethranga's nose broke under the force of the punch. He slid back several feet.

Issei roared and charged towards Verethranga.

**|Calamity Breaker: Catastrophe Lunar Emperor!|** Tiamat announced.

Irina flew weaving in and out of Cyrus' fire blasts. She was currently on the defensive. It was blatantly obvious that this man had been blessed by Verethranga. From what she had read about them the previous night, Cyrus had magical ability but never to this extent. Irina formed several light spears and let loose forcing the king to form a magical barrier to block it.

_Now's my chance!_ She thought as she seemingly teleported in front of Cyrus. She swung Hauteclere breaking through Cyrus' barrier. Cyrus, seeing this, raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts causing Irina to scream in agony. The bolts began to burn through her cloak.

As she writhed in midair in pure agony, Irina's eyes snapped open and her eyes began to glow an intense violet. She expelled a massive amount of violet fire from her body inflicting severe burns on Cyrus' arms.

Irina thrust her hand forward expelling a massive blast of pure light brighter than anything on the island. Irina felt something pierce her leg and saw a green dagger of pure energy embedded in her thigh. She pulled it out and began healing herself.

"**Divine Lightning of the Omnipotent God!**" A massive bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck Irina. Luckily, she managed to erect a barrier in time but it was beginning to crack. Irina began thinking of ways to get herself out of this situation. Irina's eyes lit up when she remembered the gift Ddraig gave her when Issei was removing his pieces. She wondered if she still had access to it.

_C'mon work!_ Irina begged.

**[Boost]** A white gauntlet with a green gem appeared on her right hand. Irina began to focus on it.

**[Boost x15]** Irina poured the boosted light energy into Hauteclere and dispelled her barrier and slashing Hauteclere upwards at the same time. The lightning bolt was cut in half and impacted the forest below causing more of the island to burn.

Cyrus watched with wide eyes.

_A Sacred Gear! She's been hiding it this whole time!_ Cyrus thought as he barely dodged a blow from a Boosted Irina.

_Boosted Gear! No, the color is wrong. A Twice Critical maybe? _Cyrus formed another magical barrier that Irina easily shattered.

Cyrus became even more desperate as he fired spell after spell at Irina, who in her Boosted State, easily dodged them. Irina formed several light orbs behind her. She focused the light orbs into a singular point.

"**Flash Cannon!**" A massive beam of light exploded from Irina's hand. Cyrus formed several barriers to defend himself but the beam easily punched through them all. The beam engulfed Cyrus causing him to scream in pain as he was retired.

"_**Bishop of Verethranga has been eliminated!**_" this time, Yasaka announced the retire.

Irina looked at where Cyrus was and down to her right arm. Suddenly, she felt Gasper's energy dropping fast. Irina flapped her wings and took off in Gasper's direction.

* * *

Gasper flew into a tree knocking it over. He clutched his gut as he vomited his breakfast and blood. The heavy footsteps of Darius the Great were headed in his direction. When the battle started, Gasper thought that due to his size, he was fairly slow. He was right in his assumption but then his partner, Serenity, jumped in. She was fast. Her natural agility combined with her knight piece made it nearly impossible for Gasper to freeze her.

The hairs on Gasper's neck stood on end as he raised his hand producing several magic circles that created shadow shields.

Serenity attempted to get the jump on the Dhampir when several shadow shields appeared causing her daggers to bounce off harmlessly.

"Tch!" she growled as she readied her daggers again. They had Alucard's back against the wall but the vampire wouldn't budge. Not even once. She saw Darius appear and bring his maces down on the shields shattering them with his Rook Enhanced Strength. Darius covered his face as a swarm of bats flew out and reformed on a nearby tree branch.

The shadows around them jumped up and began to impale them. Serenity managed to get out with only a few scratches but Darius was trapped. The shadows were stabbed deep into his skin.

Gasper saw this as his chance and began to close his fist. During his time with Valerie, he had learned to control shadows using them to impale and bind his opponents. He had developed a technique used to knock opponents unconscious by cutting their airflow. Gasper had called it.

"**Shadow Strangling**," Gasper muttered as Darius began to choke from the shadow tendrils that were beginning to tighten their hold on his neck.

"Darius!" Serenity yelled as she leaped towards Gasper with her daggers drawn. Gasper just looked at her. He couldn't move and his energy was dropping fast. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come.

"_**Knight of Verethranga has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. Gasper opened his eyes to see Serenity fading into lights with a massive diagonal cut across her back. Irina hovered in front of him with Hauteclere in her left hand and her right arm covered in a white gauntlet that looked eerily similar to the Boosted Gear.

"Alucard! Are you okay! Those meanies didn't do anything did they!?" Irina began to frantically search Gasper for injuries. Gasper shook his head. He turned back to where he had Darius pinned and saw he wasn't there. The shadows were back to normal.

Gasper's eyes grew wide. He must have lost concentration during Serenity's attempted attack. Gasper turned to Irina, who was currently healing him and saw a massive dark figure with both his maces raised ready to bring them down on poor Irina. Gasper reacted quickly pushing her out of the way.

Irina felt herself get shoved to the ground by Gasper.

"What was that for…." Irina's eyes grew wide in horror as she saw Gasper get brutally hit by Darius' maces. A sickening crunch was heard as the maces hit Gasper in the chest shattering his ribs. Gasper flew into a tree and slumped down to the ground limp and unconscious. He then faded.

"_**Bishop of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated**_," Yasaka announced.

Darius roared in his victory and began to beat his chest. While he was celebrating, Irina began to feel a boiling rage deep inside her. She stood up bangs covering her eyes and slowly walked towards Darius.

Darius sensed something off and turned his head towards the only other person in their side of the burning forest. The angel's hair was covering her eyes. Suddenly Darius covered his ears as a horrendous high pitched screech began to come from the girl. Light emanated from her body with such intensity that the very grass she walked on began to combust. Darius felt his skin begin to burn from the intensity of the light.

Irina threw her palm towards Darius and launched him through several trees. She spread all ten of her wings and took off after him.

* * *

Rossweisse ducked as Mazdak swung his sword slicing another tree. She saw a fireball headed towards her.

"**Counterlash!**" she called as a blue arc of energy instantly dispelled the fireball. Rossweisse thrust Misteleinn towards Mazdak sending a wave of earth towards him. Mazdak jumped into the air. Rossweisse formed a magic circle and called out another spell.

"**Lightning Helix!**" a red and gold helical lightning bolt impacted Mazdak's chest causing him to fly deeper into the burning woods. While the fire wasn't as bad on their side, it was still somewhat hard to breathe.

Amestris saw the lightning spell from Summer send Mazdak flying. She immediately began to form another spell when she saw a black object crash into the ground before her. It was Darius and he looked really beaten up. Cuts and bruises were all over his body as he shakily got up using his maces for support. Amestris saw a ten wing angel land in front of them. An intense light was radiating from her body. The angel kicked Darius sending crashing through a tree.

Rossweisse just stood there as Irina kicked a downed piece through a tree. She raised her palm and unleashed a light blast. Rossweisse closed her eyes due to the intensity of the light. When she opened them, she saw Darius fading into lights and a massive amount of the forest was vaporized.

"_**Rook of Verethranga has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Irina breathed to calm herself down. She saw Rossweisse look at her in shock. She knew why. Such brutality and ruthlessness was not a normal thing for her but when she saw Gasper get hurt, she snapped. She hated seeing her friends get hurt. Irina turned her gaze to the bishop standing before her and Rossweisse. Irina looked behind her to see another person burst through the brush. The knight from the looks of it.

"Irina, go help Issei! I got this!" Rossweisse yelled as she prepared several magic circles. Irina looked at her.

"Are you sure!?" she asked. Rossweisse nodded determination burning brightly in her eyes. Irina sighed and took off in Issei's direction. Amestris saw the angel fly off. She aimed a fireball at her when an ice spike impaled itself on the tree next to her. She flinched and turned to the Valkyrie, Summer.

"Your opponent is me," she said. Mazdak took off with his sword ready to swipe her. His sword hit nothing but air as she flickered out of existence.

Rossweisse appeared a distance away from them. She was glad she had cast that Primeval Rune to increase her speed. Rossweisse turned to see Amestris fire another spell at her. Rossweisse raised her hand sending a blue bolt of energy dissipating the spell.

She needed to finish this and fast. Rossweisse checked her own mana reserves. She was low. If she consumed all of it, she would pass out from exhaustion and be eliminated. However, if she went down, she was sure as hell taking them with her.

_It might be the only way,_ she thought. Rossweisse took off in a burst of speed and appeared in front of Mazdak catching him off guard. She delivered a kick towards his midsection sending him crashing into Amestris.

"**Crippling Chill**" Amestris and Mazdak were covered from the neck down in ice. Amestris began to chant a fire spell and Rossweisse knew it wouldn't hold them for long. Rossweisse formed a massive magic circle in the sky. Much larger than the previous one from the first match. The runs began to rotate rapidly and it began to crackle with power.

"This spell might take me out in the process but at least I can take solace in the fact that you're coming with me," she said to them, "It was a good fight." Rossweisse smiled.

Mazdak saw the smile on the Valkyrie's face and chuckled. The minute the girl cast the spell, he knew they would lose.

"Tell me, girl, I am a king so I know an alias when I see one so what is your name," Mazdak asked. Rossweisse smiled.

"Rossweisse," she said as she brought her hand down.

"**Comet Storm!**" a hail of comets began to rain down on their location creating a series of massive explosions that decimated that remaining half of the island.

* * *

Irina saw Issei locked in a deadlock with a blue-haired child who she guessed was Verethranga. She blurred into existence behind him and swung Hauteclere only for him to deflect it and kick her and Issei simultaneously. An explosion was heard and the ground shook causing all fighters to stop.

"What the hell was that!?" Rashnur said as he turned in the direction of a meteor storm hitting the forest. Once it died down, an announcement was heard.

"_**Bishop and Knight of Verethranga have been eliminated. Rook of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated**_," Yasaka's voice was heard announcing.

"So it's just us three versus you four?," Rashnur asked. He sighed. "Now's a better time than any. I was hoping to save this for when all three of us fought the King but now's good too. **Promotion: Queen!**" Issei and the others' eyes grew wide. They had forgotten that he could promote.

Rashnur raised his hand and swung it. A massive arc of orange flames forced them to take off into the air. Verethranga and Mithra stood there watching.

_Three gods at once. The odds aren't really in our favor here. However, we just need to take out Verethranga and we win!_, Issei thought.

"I have a plan!" Issei said to the three girls. They all huddled around him and listened to it. After Issei finished explaining, Irina and Ingvild sped off towards the three. Ingvild completely flew past the three confusing them and dove into the ocean. Irina appeared next to Rashnur kicking him away from the three. Mithra saw this and sprung into action sending an ax kick to Irina.

Irina dodged it and backflipped away from her. Verethranga sent a barrage of golden energy beams only for Irina's form to flicker causing most of the beams to miss. Mitsuki appeared in front of Verethranga and decked him in the face breaking his nose.

In the ocean, Ingvild finished gathering enough power and opened her eyes. They were glowing blood red. She put her thumbs up to her mouth and bit them drawing blood. She swiped the blood across her palms and clapped them together. A red magic circle appeared in front of her chest.

"**Balance Breaker: Blood Dragon Ascension!**"

In the sky, Issei watched as Irina and Mitsuki distracted them long enough for himself and Ingvild to gather enough power. His plan was working. With the gods distracted, he could take out Verethranga with his and Ingvild's strongest attacks while he was distracted. Issei saw a dome of water appear and turn red. The dome burst and he saw Ingvild standing with her crimson eyes on top of a massive eight-headed dragon that appeared to be comprised entirely of blood.

Issei formed a massive ball of dark energy.

"_Tiamat, can you add your fire to it!" _Issei asked.

**|On it, Hatchling!|** Tiamat said. Blue fire was added to the dark ball of death. Issei reared back and threw the ball.

"**Soul Shatterer!**"

Ingvild saw Issei was about to throw the ball and ordered her dragon to form eight highly concentrated spheres of crimson energy.

"**Blood: Extinction!**" Ingvild said as she fired at the same time as Issei.

Mitsuki and Irina heard the attacks and simultaneously attacked both Mithra and Rashnur sending them flying away from Verethranga. Mitsuki then used Telos Karma to guarantee a hit from both her twin's and Ingvild's attacks. She and Irina flew into the sky.

**[Boost]**

Irina thrust her gauntlet covered hand to Verethranga pinning him to the ground with her telekinesis.

Verethranga felt himself get pushed down to the ground by an unseen force. He looked and saw two extremely powerful magic attacks heading for him. Verethranga sighed. They had gotten the drop on him this time.

"So the God of Victory suffers a defeat for the first time since the Trojan War huh? You kids aren't so bad after all," he mused. Verethranga let out a wistful smile before the two attacks hit him creating a massive explosion that engulfed the entire island and retiring him. Issei covered himself in darkness while Ingvild dove back into the ocean depths. Irina and Mitsuki erected their strongest shields.

"What the hell is that attack!?" Naud yelled as he gripped his chair. Yasaka wasn't doing any better as she hung on to the most stable object in the room. The barrier surrounding the arena began to crack as several Ultimate Class Beings struggled to maintain it. The barrier shattered as the explosion ended but the shockwave and heat traveled out of the arena and could be felt for miles.

Naud got up off the floor and looked to the arena. The arena was practically a crater with only six people left. He saw no sign of Verethranga anywhere.

"V-Verethranga has been defeated. Victory goes to Eden Squad!" he announced. The crowd went wild and began to cheer for the team.

Issei and the others looked up and saw the crowds cheering for them. They waved at them and then saw Mithra and Rashnur walking towards them. Mithra held her hand out and Issei grasped it firmly and shook it. He did the same with Rashnur.

"You kids aren't bad," Mithra said before she teleported out. Rashnur smiled a toothy smile.

"If you're ever in Iran, give us a call and we'll have a couple of drinks," Rashnur said before disappearing in a vortex of golden fire.

Issei and the others felt themselves being teleported out of the arena.

* * *

**Agreas Hospital, 5:45 PM**

Issei and the others had gone to the hospital to get patched up. He and Ingvild had suffered fewer wounds than Mitsuki and Irina and were currently sitting by Gasper's bed. The poor dhampir had several broken ribs and had been given Phenex tears and several healers attended to him upon his arrival. Gasper was awake and watching the match Vali Team had. It was a complete wipeout and Vali was being interviewed.

"Another day, another victory," Kiba said. He had several bandages on his arm and torso from the burns he received. The others nodded. So far, they had fought two gods and given their current streak, it wasn't entirely impossible that their next opponent would be one too.

"I just hope we don't have to fight another god," Rossweisse said as she sat next to Issei. Rossweisse had bandages wrapped around her head and her hair was half of its usual length due to some of it being burned off by her Comet Storm.

"Don't jinx it," Irina said leaning her head on Issei's shoulders.

"Knowing us, it probably will," Issei said as he grabbed some of his twin's Krave and popped them into his mouth.

"Ddraig and Tiamat," an emotionless voice said from the door. They all turned to see Ophis, the Archangels, and the Four Satans standing there.

"Az-nee, what's going on? Why is Ophis here?" Mitsuki asked.

"We need to talk," Ophis said.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 4501**

**File Name: Verethranga**

**GPS Ranking: C-Rank Deity Class**

**File: Verethranga is the Persian God of Victory and one of the three judges of the Persian Underworld alongside Mithra and Rashnur. He appears as a small child with blue hair, a red gem on his forehead, and wears a white turban. Do not be fooled by this appearance. This being can turn you into paste with his bare hands.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: He serves as the inspiration for Aladdin.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 4502**

**File Name: Rashnu**

**GPS Ranking: C-Rank Deity Class**

**File: Rashnu is the Persian God of Justice and one of the three judges of the Persian Underworld alongside Verethranga and Mithra. He appears as a blonde man wearing white robes. He is said to be able to summon golden flames that burn the impure.**

**Notes:**

**Thoth: This man can be very annoying. Do not get him drunk!**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 4503**

**File Name: Mithra**

**GPS Ranking: C-Rank Deity Class**

**File: Mithra is the Persian Goddess of Truth and one of the three judges of the Persian Underworld alongside Verethranga and Mithra. She appears to be a woman in her late teens to early twenties with bright red hair. Of the three, she is the most pragmatic and ruthless.**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: Do not piss her off! Legend has it that she was the one who created the Caspian Sea by throwing a rage fit.**

**End File**


	16. Rematch: Phenex vs Gremory

**Pyre: Woohoo! New chapter! Let's get started!**

**Lily: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Lilith, January 26, 2020, 5:57 PM; Current Time: 5 Minutes til Midnight**

Everyone stood silent after hearing Ophis talk. What did she want to talk about? The Satans stood on edge and the Archangels just looked down. What was going on?

"Issei. First of all, I want to know why Tiamat is here with Ddraig?," Ophis said. Everyone grew confused except for the Archangels as they could sense her and Grayfia, who already knew.

"Um, Ophis. I don't see Tiamat anywhere," Ajuka said. The other Satans nodded along with her. Issei summoned Boosted Gear but there was a difference. The gem wasn't green. It was blue.

**|Hello, Maou Beelzebub.|** Tiamat's voice came from the gauntlet. All of the Maou were shocked. Tiamat was inside the Boosted Gear.

"Issei, why is Tiamat inside the Boosted Gear?" Sirzechs asked him. Issei titled his head. Did he forget to tell them? Tiamat decided to tell them herself.

**|Maou Lucifer, Issei defeated me in combat above the Familiar Forest when I went to kill him in order to free Ddraig. I was dying so in order to save me, Issei had Ddraig transfer my soul to a sapphire gem and implant it into the Boosted Gear allowing him to gain my powers the same way he got Albion's| **Tiamat explained. The Maou nodded and Ajuka looked at Issei like he was a new discovery. Before he could begin asking anything, Serafall spoke up.

"Issei, we're here to tell you that for the next few weeks, you need to be ready," Serafall said in a serious tone.

"Ready for what?" Issei asked her. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like what she was going to say. Ophis looked at him and looked to the girl who was hiding with the Lucifer's son behind the Maid's legs.

"They are coming for you. The boy you rescued and the girl behind the Maid of Lucifer. The demons are coming for her. They are lead by the Lord of the Flies who follows the command of another," Ophis said her gaze remaining as stoic as ever.

"Ri-right. Like Ophis said, we believe Demons have infiltrated the Games and are hunting the remaining three children with Miasma i.e you, Orimura-san, and Lily-tan," Sirzechs said to him.

Issei looked at her apprehensively. They, as in the demons, were coming for him and Lily.

"Issei, the boy is still in Kuoh right?" Serafall asked him. Issei nodded.

"I recommend you invite the boy here to watch the Games. That way, we can keep an eye on him," Falbium told him.

"Alright, but wherever he goes Houki goes as well. Just giving you a heads up," Issei said. The Satans and Archangels nodded.

"What of the other girls that followed him?" Gabriel asked them.

"We'll just tell them that Ichika has been chosen for a special retreat," Ajuka said offhandedly. Uriel looked at him while Raphael already began thinking of better excuses. Ophis decided to take this time to speak.

"Do not fear the Lord of Gluttony. Fear the Firstborn. The Princess of all Demons. She is the true enemy," Ophis told him. Her face remained as stoic as ever.

Issei grew confused. The Firstborn. Who the hell was the Firstborn?

"Ophis, who is the Firstborn?" Issei asked her. Ophis looked at him and thought of a way to respond.

"She is someone close to you, Issei. Very close to you. Remember, do not trust anyone outside your group. Beware of the half breed," Ophis said. She formed a rift to the Dimensional Gap. Ophis looked at Issei one last time. Ophis walked over to him and placed two fingers onto his forehead. Issei felt a rush of knowledge enter his head.

"What did you just do?" Issei asked her clutching his head. Whatever she did gave him an intense headache.

"Knowledge. How to use the Miasma inside you. Hmm, how strange. The energy reminds me of her," Ophis said before walking into her rift closing it.

Everyone stood silent after Ophis left. The Four Satans began to go through several plans to keep Issei, Lily, and Ichika safe from the demons. The Archangels stood there. They knew who the Firstborn was. She was the most feared demon in history. The Elder Gods and Seraphim referred to her as the Greatest Demon to walk the face of Creation.

Issei and the others sat there thinking. If the demons were coming them they needed to prepare. As the others began to think of ways to prepare for a demon attack, Issei thought hard about what Ophis said.

_The Firstborn is someone close to me? Who could it possibly be?_, Issei thought. Issei felt Irina's hand on his own. She gave him a comforting smile and he smiled back at her.

"Issei," Sirzechs said to him. Issei and the others looked at him.

"Rest up. We're happy to say that you've made it to round two. The matches will be next week. Feel free to watch the remainder of the matches back at your house or in your club room. Ajuka has already linked the TVs to the Underworld," Michael said to them. He, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael teleported out. Three of the four Satans did the same leaving only Eden Squad, Lily, Millicas, Azazel, Azrael, Sirzechs, and Grayfia in the room.

"Issei, we'll ward your house as best as we can in case they go there," Sirzechs said. Issei nodded to him in appreciation. Grayfia sent him a smile before they too teleported out. Azrael and Azazel walked over the Issei. Azazel made his way to Gasper and placed two fingers on his head. A light high pitched noise came from Azazel and Gasper glowed. All of his wounds were healed instantly.

Issei and the others looked on with wide eyes. When was Azazel capable of this? Azrael noticed Issei's look and began to talk.

"You're wondering how Azazel is capable of this aren't you?" Azrael said. The others nodded.

"To put it short, the Archangels that you've all seen aren't at their full powers," Azrael said. She snapped her finger and a comfortable looking chair appeared out of thin air.

"Summoning magic?" Rossweisse asked.

Azazel chuckled.

"No. Have you ever heard the phrase, Creatio Ex Nihilo?" Azazel asked her. Rossweisse nodded. It was a term frequently attributed to the Creator Gods of each pantheon though they created beings from their essence and not nothing.

"Azrael created that chair from nothing. She didn't summon it," Azazel said. He held his hand up to demonstrate and a bird appeared from seemingly nowhere. He handed it to them.

"It's real! It's not an illusion! How!" Ingvild said. As a magician, Ingvild knew that such a feat was impossible to even Gods.

"There are many secrets lost to time. Not even Ophis is capable of doing this and she is an aspect of the Void-" Azazel snapped his mouth shut. He almost gave them Ophis' biggest secret. Issei and the others narrowed their eyes. Ophis was just an aspect?

"Umm, Sensei, you mind finishing that train of thought," Issei said.

Azrael sighed at her twin. Some things were better left unknown. She was just glad he didn't reveal what she and her siblings truly were.

"You already blew so I might as well explain. Whatever you here you must not go blabbing to other people," Azrael said sipping her tea.

"Ophis the Infinity Dragon God is what you just heard my idiotic twin say she is. She is an aspect. A mere creation of an old friend of ours. Our friend's name is Abyss. He is the Cosmic Deity who personifies the Void and lives in the Empty. The Void outside all Creation and from which all Creation came from," Azrael told them. Eden Squad stared at her with their jaws dropped. Ophis had a dad!? If she had parents then…

"What about Great Red!?" Irina asked her wanting to know. Azazel decided to do this one.

"Great Red was created by the Cosmic Deity, Cognition. Great Red is the Dragon God of Dreams but Cognition is the embodiment of thoughts, knowledge, and dreams," Azazel said.

"What about the Beast?" Kiba asked. Azazel and Azrael went quiet at the question.

"You don't have to answer tha-" Issei was interrupted.

"The Beast is a Cosmic Horror born from the residual energies of Abyss, War, and a certain member of a race of extra dimensional beings known as the Leviathans," Azazel said. He remembered them. The first beasts created by his Father.

"Wait so who are they? These beings that created Ophis and Great Red," Ingvild asked them. Azrael looked at her and began to talk. She waved her hands and the room shifted to outer space making them jump.

"The Cosmic Deities as they are called are personifications of aspects that make up Creation. Make no mistake, they are not parts of what they represent but rather they are what they represent. Void, Time, Space, Emotion, Thought, Fate, War, Famine, Pestilence, Genesis, Extinction, and Nature. They came into existence with the concept that they are with Abyss being the oldest and Pestilence, the Horseman being the youngest," Azrael waved her hand. The images of twelve beings appeared before them. One was a man comprised seemingly of living shadows. The second was a man with black hair and blue eyes. The third was a woman with pink hair and blue eyes. The fourth was a woman with black hair and red eyes. Following her was a man with red hair and amber eyes along with a woman with blonde hair and violet eyes with clover-like symbols in her eyes. Then there was a man wearing grey and violet robes with grey hair and a beard. He was followed by a woman with hair as black as night with violet eyes. Then, the image of another woman appeared. This one had green hair and yellow eyes. After that was a woman with red hair and brown eyes followed by a white-haired man with red eyes.

"In order by age, they are Abyss, Eternity, Infinity, Fate, Cognition, Affection, Alpha, Omega, Anima, War, Famine, and Pestilence," Azrael said, "You might recognize the last three as three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." She looked at the clock. 9:30 PM.

"It's getting late and you all need rest. The rest of the matches will be tomorrow since you all decided it would be a good idea to level Agreas," Azazel said smiling at the looks he was given upon saying it. He and Azrael teleported from the room leaving the team to rest.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, January 27, 2020, 5:45 PM**

Issei was lying down with his head on Kuroka's lap. She sat there staring at the TV and stroking his hair lovingly. Irina was in the kitchen and Rossweisse was at a teacher's meeting. Next, to them, Kiba sat staring at the TV lazily while Mitsuki sat next to Vali. Ingvild wasn't even paying attention to the game anymore and opted to read a book. Le Fay was in the kitchen with Irina and Arthur was snoozing on the recliner. Issei turned his gaze slightly and saw his sister give Lavinia a glare. He sighed and began to think about his day. Going to school was a challenge today. It wasn't so much the classes but the situation at hand.

**Flashback**

_Issei was sitting in the Garden of Eden Club Room tuning his guitar when he heard frantic knocking on the door. He looked to Irina who shrugged and got up to answer it. As soon as she opened it, someone ran inside and slammed the door and locked it._

"_Ichika-san? Are you alright?" Irina asked him. Ichika turned to her panting._

"_Please *pant* hide me!" he begged. Issei looked at her and shrugged. Irina turned to him and nodded. Irina was about to walk away when she heard a light knock. She unlocked the door and opened it to reveal Houki standing there._

"_Hey, Shidou-san, have you seen Ichika? I'm done with kendo practice and I was seeing if he was still here so that we could walk home together," Houki said. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed Houki by the shoulders and pulled her in. The door slammed shut behind her. Houki blinked and saw a shaking Ichika._

"_Ichika, are you okay?" she asked. Ichika nodded and curled up in a fetal position by the corner. A small dome of lightning formed around him. Ichika had been taught by Issei how to control his powers and Ichika was somewhat put down when he saw how skilled Lily was when she showed him her powers._

"_Eh?" Houki looked to Issei and Irina for answers but shrugged. Earlier that day, Issei and Irina had told them that they were invited to the Underworld to watch the Azazel Cup. Houki was excited to observe other fighters and hopefully incorporate some of th sword styles to her own. Ichika just wanted to watch._

_Suddenly, a voice called out in the hallway._

"_ICHIIKAAA-SAN!" a female voice called._

"_Cecilia, he's not here," another voice said. _

"_Impossible. Charlotte saw him turn this way," Cecilia said._

"_Did you find my husband?" another voice said._

"_No Bodewig-san," the voice said._

"_Well, Charl, you lied," Bodewig said._

"_Eh? I could've sworn that he ran in this direction. __Je suis désolé!" Charl said. The group walked off and the occupants of the room heard Ichika sigh in relief. Houki turned to him and gave him a dry look. She saw Ichika lower the dome and grabbed him by the collar and began to drag him out the window. Irina saw this and formed several light platforms for them to walk down due to the fact that they were on the third floor of the Academy. As Houki was about to climb out the window, she saw Cecilia looking up at her. The blonde's eyes grew wide._

"_I found Houki! She's with Ichika!" Houki quickly climbed back into the window and slammed it shut._

"_Issei-san! Irina-san! Can you teleport us back home!?" Irina sighed and nodded. Those girls were so annoying. Irina grabbed Ichika and Houki and formed a cross teleporting away._

_Issei heard knocking on the door._

"_OPEN UP HOUKI! WE KNOW HE'S IN THERE!" a multitude of voices called out. Issei's eyebrow twitched as he walked to open the door. He opened it and looked at all of them with a deadpan look._

"_Can I help you?" Issei said to them dryly._

"_Where is he?" the silver-haired girl wearing an eye patch demanded._

"_Where is who?" he replied._

"_Um, have you seen a man with black hair in here with a girl with brown hair," the girl with twintails asked him._

"_You're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that," Issei said. _

"_His name is Ichika Orimura. Brother of Chifuyu Orimura," the blonde with blue eyes said haughtily._

_He heard Irina appear back into the room. She walked over to the door and looked at all the girls at the door._

"_Can we help you?" she asked._

"_They're looking for Orimura-san," Issei said._

"_I think you have the wrong room," Irina said grabbing the door and slamming it in their faces. _

"_You wanna head home?" Issei said grabbing his car keys. Irina smiled and nodded and they left the room to go pick up Lily._

**End Flashback**

"Well folks, time for our next match, Rias Gremory vs Riser Phenex! Everyone remembers this match as Rias-sama's first rating game. However, it seems that the Red Dragon Emperor is not here! Interviews with Rias-sama has the Red Dragon Emperor hiding out and going to make a debut during the Finals! Let's get on with the match!" Naud said over the screen.

"Oh, it's Rias's match today," Mitsuki said increasing the volume slightly. They all turned their attention to the show. Irina had come out of the kitchen with Le Fay carrying a bunch of food.

They set the food down and began to watch the game alongside the rest of them.

"Hey, Vali? Who is on Rias' peerage anyway for the Azazel Cup anyway?" Issei said. Vali nodded and pulled out his Scroll. He scrolled and found Rias's team name.

_Team Rias Gremory_

_Score:3000_

He clicked on the tab that said roster.

_Rias Gremory (King)_

_Akeno Himejima (Queen)_

_Koneko Toujou (Rook)_

_Yuu Nakiri (Rook)_

_Hiruko Yukikaze (Bishop)_

_Asia Argento (Bishop)_

_Eren Yahtogami (Knight)_

_Xenovia Quarta (Knight)_

_Tatsuya Seimei (Pawn)_

Issei felt his rage boil over at the sight of the boys' names. He really wanted them to get to the final round so that he could humiliate them in front of the entire supernatural world. Irina put a hand on his shoulder and he immediately calmed down. He turned his gaze back to the match.

* * *

Rias looked over the entire group. She sighed in frustration. While they had one the previous games, she kept thinking about how Kiba, Rossweisse, and Gasper just seemingly disappeared. The boys were also starting to get an inflated ego over their past couple of wins over a bunch of amateurs. Today was her first real match that bore any difficulty. Riser Phenex. She had lost the first time they fought and she had to be saved by Issei during their marriage. The man, while he did look at her pervertedly from time to time, didn't pursue her anymore and even gave her some advice before the Games started.

"Alright everyone, listen up! Our opponent today is Riser Phenex. We already fought him once and lost but we're stronger now. More experience. Xenovia, Koneko, Hiruko! I want you to spearhead an assault and break up Riser's peerage as no doubt he will be sending his pawns over here to promote. Akeno, same as last time. Take out Yubelluna! Asia, stay with me. We'll go after Riser. Eren, Tatsuya, you take out any other pieces you come across! Understood!" Rias ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" they all chorused together. Everyone scattered leaving Rias and Asia alone. Her brother had a twisted sense of humor. Their chosen field was a replica of Kuoh Academy.

Eden Squad and Vali Team watched as the match began. The camera zoomed in on Xenovia, Koneko, Yuu encounter Riser's pawns.

"Shirone's gotten strong nya, but nowhere near my level," Kuroka said. Everyone in Eden Squad turned to her. She winked at them signaling that it was a secret.

Koneko dodged an attack from Mira and sent a devastating punch to her ribs eliminating her.

"_**Pawn of Riser Phenex has been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

Yuu activated his Sacred Gear, Perfect Vision, and parried every blow from Ni and Li. He swung his sword inflicting a deep gash on Li's abdomen. Ni came up from behind him and landed a punch on his kidney causing him to cough up blood. Li held her bleeding stomach as she watched Ni place her foot on his neck pinning him to the ground.

"The Red Dragon Emperor was more of a challenge when he started and he only had 10 days of training! You had months and you can't even beat a pawn?" Ni asked as she splayed her claws ready to eliminate him. Yuu closed his eyes and waited for the blow but it never came.

"_**Pawns of Riser Phenex have been eliminated,**_" Naud announced. Yuu opened his eyes and saw the remaining pawns dissolving into light particles. Xenovia walked over to him and helped him up.

"C' mon, we have to head in Buchou's direction," Koneko said as she began to run. Yuu and Xenovia both took off after her.

* * *

"They're using the same strategy they used the first time," Kiba commented.

Issei watched carefully. He knew taking Rias down wouldn't be easy. She was considered a genius.

* * *

Akeno flew at breakneck speed. She felt a rise in mana and formed a shield around herself.

"Is it time for our rematch already, Priestess of Thunder?" a woman with violet hair asked as she descended from the sky. Akeno looked at her and smiled. She was more powerful now with three pairs of wings. This fight will be easy for her. Akeno formed several magic circles behind her and unleashed a barrage of holy lightning.

Yubelluna dodged the attacks and formed her own magic circle underneath Akeno. A massive explosion rocked the entire academy. Explosion Magic. Her specialty. It was what earned her the moniker, **Bomb Queen**. A bolt of pure black lightning flew from the smoke cloud. Yubelluna's eyes grew wide and she dodged it. The black lightning bolt impacted the school building punching straight through it causing half of the building to collapse.

Yubelluna turned her gaze back to Akeno, who had formed several more magic circles and fired holy lightning at her. Yubelluna formed several barriers but some of the spells broke through. Due to its holy nature, Yubelluna screamed as she felt the most intense pain when the lightning hit her. Through the pain, she cast a massive bomb spell at Akeno hitting her square on.

Akeno gripped her arm. That last spell had gotten her good. She knew that her right arm was injured. Yubelluna wasn't looking any better. She had burns all over her body from the lightning.

They traded spell after spell and after what seemed like hours, they were both panting down on their last legs.

"What do you say we finish this? No Phenex Tears this time," Yubelluna said charging the last of her mana.

"Yeah, let's!" Akeno said her entire form was engulfed in a yellow aura. They unleashed their strongest attacks at each other. Akeno felt the full force of the explosion engulf her.

_Is this it?_ _I'm sorry, Rias-sama,_ Akeno thought. Suddenly, she heard a deep voice in her head say something.

"**I'm not going to wait for my vessel to heal for me to make a move. You will not remember this conversation little crow**, the voice said. A mass of darkness sprung from Akeno's body and shielded her from the blast.

* * *

Issei's eyes grew wide as the screen went to static for a quick second before returning to normal. Everyone was watching with the same look. What the hell!? Akeno wasn't capable of emitting an EMP much less one that interfered with a magically enhanced camera. The screen returned to normal and they saw a battered Akeno breathing heavily.

* * *

Akeno applied a quick healing spell on herself to stop her bleeding. She looked towards Rias direction and flew there.

On the way, she saw Eren and Tatsuya defeat and take out Riser's knights, Karlamine and Sirus, though they themselves weren't looking so well. She saw Xuelan, Riser's Rook charging towards them with a flaming fist courtesy of Riser's Bishop, Mihae. Xuelan landed a solid haymaker on Eren eliminating him from the match.

"_**Knight of Rias Gremory has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

"You bitch!" Tatsuya summoned Gravity Prison and increased the gravity on her sending her to her knees. He drew two talismans from his pocket.

"**Banmachōbuku!**" Tatsuya chanted forming a hand sign. The talismans turned into blue spheres which fired off as beams of energy. Due to the spell's purifying nature, it was harmful to devils. The minute it hit Xuelan the girl screamed in pain before she passed out.

"_**Rook of Riser Phenex has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Mihae began to prepare a spell to eliminate the weary pawn of Gremory when a bolt of lightning hit her on the back knocking her out.

"_**Bishop of Riser Phenex has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Akeno ran over to Tatsuya.

"Are you alright?" she asked applying a quick healing spell. Tatsuya smiled and nodded giving her a kiss on the cheek. Akeno smiled at the gesture. He was so sweet but she now knew in her heart that she would always belong to Issei and she will do everything to fix their relationship.

"C'mon let's help Rias!" she said and they took off in Rias' direction.

* * *

Issei bristled at the sight of Tatsuya kissing Akeno on the cheek. That cocky no good son of a bitch. He held very little feelings for the girls but the sight of him kissing her was infuriating, to say the least. It was like watching someone rub their achievement in your face.

"Hyoudou, calm down. You can beat them within an inch of their life during the Games," Vali said to his rival. Issei nodded at him with a smile. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Rias dodged fireballs from Riser. While she got stronger, it seems Riser did as well. He must have trained for this tournament.

"You know Rias, I've been wondering. Where is the Red Dragon Emperor? I wanted a rematch to see how much I improved," Riser remarked as he summoned a massive ball of fire and threw it at her. Rias responded by sending a blast wave of her Power of Destruction annihilating the ball.

"He's not here. I'm saving him for the Finals," Rias lied. In truth, she had no idea where Issei was. The last time she saw him, he had thrown her across the room.

"Well then, it seems that our match will have to wait. I'll just end it here," Riser said forming balls of orange-white flames behind him.

"When I went training, I found something or someone," Riser said piquing Rias's interest.

"Who?" she asked.

"Legends say that all monster species have progenitors. Dragons, vampires, werewolves, etc. etc. I found the one whose powers are like that of my clan's. As you know, the Phenex Clan uses the powers of the immortal bird, Phoenix. So I went in search of a phoenix to train me. Imagine my luck when I found her. They call her the Alpha Phoenix. The First Phoenix who birthed the entire species. A goddess of Phoenixes for all intents and purposes," Riser said as flames began to surround him.

"She taught me how to increase the intensity of my flames and how to do this," Riser said as his entire body transformed. Rias looked on with shock at what stood before her. Riser's body had changed entirely. He had turned into a massive pterodactyl-like bird. His wings seem to be comprised entirely of fire. He turned his flaming gaze upon her.

"**Well, what do you think? You still think you can win?**" Riser asked. He flapped his massive wings sending a torrent of scorching air towards her and Asia. Asia raised a defensive barrier blocking the wind though the heat was still present. All flammable items in the vicinity combusted.

Riser opened his beak and a massive ball of fire formed.

"**Banefire**" a torrent of orange flames were expelled from Riser's mouth incinerating the entire area. Asia's shield was barely holding and began to crack.

"Asia, retire!" Rias yelled.

"What no! Rias-one-!" Asia was interrupted by Rias.

"I'm going to use _it_! I need you to be away from me when I do," she ordered her.

"I retire!" Asia said as she dissolved into light.

"_**Bishop of Rias Gremory has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Rias called upon her Power of Destruction. Over the past few months, she had been training to achieve a form like her brother's. A humanoid power of destruction. She had succeeded in a way of course.

Riser watched as the fire was consumed by an orange and black aura. His eyes grew wide when he saw a perfectly circular crater 15 meters in diamter with Rias standing at the center. Rias was different. Her entire body was enshrouded in the blackness of the power of Destruction with only her jaw and neck visible. Her eyes were glowing an eerie red and her hair was floating upwards. Orange markings were etched all over her body.

"Do you like it, Riser?" Rias said while looking at him. Her eyes began to glow menacingly.

"It might sound conceited but I call this form **Goddess of Ruin**," Rias said, "I think I'll beta test it on you." Rias raised her palm. Spears made purely of her destructive energy formed and were launched at Riser. Riser flew out of the way and watched the spears impact the Rating Game Barrier. His eyes grew wide when the barrier was corroded away. Those barriers required Ultimate Class power to destroy.

He looked back to Rias, who released her wings only they weren't normal devil wings anymore. She had eight dragon-like wings behind her.

"Well then, shall we fight?" Rias said as she raised her palms creating a massive amount of Power of Destruction spheres. Riser looked at her wearily before letting out a screech and flew towards her.

* * *

Vali was honestly impressed. The girl managed to create her own version of her brother's humanoid Power of Destruction. Maybe she would be a good fight in the finals.

Issei and the others looked and analyzed the form. Issei estimated her now at around B-Rank Ultimate Class in power seeing as how she easily destroyed the barrier.

* * *

Rias raised her hand and commanded the spheres to barrage Riser. Riser was instantly hit with a deluge of highly destructive balls of energy. He flew upwards to retreat. She was able to damage him even in his ultimate form? He unleashed a massive amount of fire.

Rias formed a finger gun and fired a red beam of energy at the stream of flames completely punching through it.

Riser felt an intense pain in his left-wing and saw a massive hole in it. He struggled to stay upright in the air as his regeneration worked to heal the wound. Rias appeared before him and raised her palm. A red wave of energy came forth and sent him plummeting to the ground.

Riser raised his head and looked to see Rias. The woman cocked her head.

"Is that all you're capable of Riser? Is that all you learned from the Alpha Phoenix?" she mocked. Riser growled. He opened his beak.

"**Cruel Sun!**" A sun-like object flew straight towards Rias. Confident that her aura would break down the attack before it reached her, Rias stood there waiting. Her eyes grew wide in shock when she saw her aura not breaking it down at all. The sun hit Rias at full force creating a massive fiery explosion.

Akeno and Tatsuya had met up with Xenovia, Koneko, and Yuu when the announcement that Asia was defeated was made. They all flew in Rias' direction when they saw the massive phoenix. Akeno made out what seemed to be Rias locked in combat with what seemed to be Riser. Riser fell to the ground and fired a sun-like object hitting Rias. They felt a shockwave knock them out of the sky. Akeno looked up and saw the heat from the blast had caused the trees to catch fire.

"We have to help Rias!" Akeno said as she spread all three pairs of her wings and flew at breakneck speed to Rias' location. The others followed suit. They arrived to see Rias crash into the roof of Kuoh with burns all over her body. She was still in her **Goddess of Ruin** state.

"Rias, we're here!" Akeno said as she began to heal her. Tatsuya and Eren fired spell after spell at Riser to no avail. Riser merely sent a gust of wind knocking them to the ground.

Koneko gathered nature energy and formed two massive flaming balls of blue fire and launched them at Riser. Xenovia summoned EX-Durandal and unleashed a massive wave of energy at Riser. Riser, in his phoenix form, roared dispelling the attacks.

"**Scorched Earth**" a massive beam of fire came from Riser's mouth. Akeno grabbed Rias and dodged while the others flew out of the beam's vicinity. The beam had cut through the ground completely splitting the arena in half.

"Tch!" Rias grit her teeth. Even in this form, Riser was still kicking her ass seven ways to Sunday. She formed a ball of destructive energy in her hand and launched it at Riser.

Riser turned to see an attack from Rias headed his way. He flew upwards dodging the ball causing it to impact a tree destroying it completely.

Riser beat his wings forming a tornado of pure fire that headed towards them. Xenovia used Ex-Durandal to cut the tornado apart but not before she was severely burned by it.

Rias watched as her friends got hurt. She needed to come up with a plan and quick.

"Akeno, I need you and everyone to distract Riser. I'm going to use the rest of my energy in an end-all attack," she said. Akeno nodded and relayed the order to the others via a CC.

Koneko jumped on the flat of Ex-Durandal's blade. Xenovia swung the sword launching her towards the demonic bird that was Riser Phenex. Riser turned to see Koneko in her Shirone mode with her fists on fire. She landed a solid hit on Riser's head.

Tatsuya used Gravity Prison to freeze Riser in mid-air by increasing the gravity of the air around him. Tatsuya fired several spheres of blue fire using his Sacred Gear, Fallen Star.

Akeno summoned a massive magic circle and unleashed the mother of all lightning bolts on Riser causing him to screech in agony. Her sadist mode took over and she began firing blast after blast of lightning on Riser's form. Riser growled as he was barraged with lightning. Summoning all his power, he spread his wings expelling a massive wave of fire. Tatsuya and Eren who were close to the blast were left with massive third burns as they screamed in pain and agony.

"_**One pawn and knight of Rias Gremory has been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

Riser turned his gaze to Koneko and Xenovia and unleashed a deluge of fire on them eliminating them as well.

"_**Rook and Knight of Rias Gremory have been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

Akeno grit her teeth as she saw Tatsuya, Eren, Koneko, and Xenovia get eliminated.

"Rias, are you finished yet!?" Akeno yelled as she dodged a fire blast from Riser.

"Yeah! Get out of the way!?" Akeno nodded and flew away from Riser. Riser saw Akeno fly away and was about to give chase when he sensed a rise in mana. He turned to Rias who had a massive magic circle formed above her head.

"**Light of Ruin!**" a massive beam of red light crashed down on Riser. Riser howled as his body was being constantly destroyed and rebuilt. He passed out from the pain. Rias watched as Riser fell to the ground in his normal form and dissolved into lights.

"_**Riser Phenex has been eliminated! Victory goes to Rias Gremory!" **_Naud announced.

* * *

"So she won," Irina said sipping her juice.

"Yeah, she did," Rossweisse said.

"I think I may have found a good friend in Riser," Issei said as he looked at the TV.

A beeping sound alerted them. Issei and Vali grabbed their scrolls.

"I'm fighting Hyperion the Titan. Who are you fighting?" Vali said.

Issei gulped at the name. He showed Vali whose eyes grew to epic proportions.

_Eden Squad vs Team Kalpa_

_Lucifaad Stadium_

_February 2, 2020, 3:00 PM_

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 2888**

**File Name: Cosmic Deities**

**File: Not much is known about them other than the fact that they are the concepts that make up Creation. Legends say that they came into existence when the Creator created the Omniverse. They were the creators of the beings known as Great Red and Ophis.**

**GPS Ranking: Unknown**

**File End.**

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 444**

**File Name: Alpha Phoenix**

**File: The Alpha Phoenix is said to be the first phoenix to ever exist. Through her all other firebirds came to be by what we now theorize as parthenogenesis. Like other Phoenixes, she dies at the end of her lifespan only to be reborn.**

**GPS Ranking: Not enough information though by the myths, AAA-Rank Deity Class**

**Weaknesses: Unknown**

**File End**

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter seemed kind of cut and dry. I had a hard time writing a chapter focused on those boys so... Anyway, I see you guys saw the wiki articles. I'm happy you all like them. Remember to make it a great day or not, the choice is yours.~**


	17. The Goddess of Destruction

**Pyre: Hello again! Here I am with another chapter! I see you all liked the last one. I've seen that other people use OSTs for fight scenes so I'll beta test on this chapter. They make my day. Also if you want to edit and add information to any of the character articles, please PM me. Don't worry about the format I'll deal with that so comments! P****lease review. I really do like reading them.**

**Irina: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyodou Manor, January 27, 2020, 9:45 PM; Current Time: 5 Minutes til Midnight**

Issei and Vali just stared at the team name. Team Kalpa. It was one of the most feared teams in the entirety of the Azazel Cup. Mitsuki saw her brother go white and grabbed the tablet. She was confused.

"Um, Aniki? Why are you afraid of Team Kalpa?" she asked. Issei just clicked on the team roster. Mitsuki read the names and paled.

_Kali (King)_

_Durga (Queen)_

_Ganesh (Bishop)_

_Arjuna (Bishop)_

_Karna (Knight)_

_Rama (Knight)_

_Krishna (Rook)_

_Lakshmibai (Pawn)_

Everyone was confused. Why were they shocked?

"Um, senpai? Who are we fighting?" Gasper said carefully.

Issei gulped and told them in a shaky voice.

"Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Destruction," Issei said. Everyone's faces went white at the name. They all knew it. She was the only goddess in the Hindu Pantheon other than Parvati that can bring Shiva to obey.

"What do we do?" Irina said looking to her boyfriend. Issei looked down. He had seen their record. No losses in their peerage for the entirety of the games.

"We need to prepare. Devise a strategy to take her down. Maybe talk to Shiva or Indra about it. Ask him a few things about Kali," Kiba said. This was not looking good. Kali was ranked on the GPS as a B-Rank Deity Class making her nearly equal in power to the Super Devils Sirzechs and Ajuka.

"I'll go visit Shiva," Issei said. Their match was in a couple of days giving them some time to train.

* * *

**Brahmaloka, Mount Meru, January 28, 2020, 4:30 PM**

Issei appeared at the entrance of the highest part of Mount Meru. Brahmaloka. It was beautiful. It looked like a garden that stretched infinitely in every direction. The garden was filled with seemingly every flower in existence. Azrael bonked him on top of his head. Issei grabbed the top part of his head and pouted at Azrael. Azrael had decided to come with him for this.

"Stop gawking and let's go," she said. A goddess with cream-colored skin and violet hair ran over to them. She had blue eyes and a slender figure. The woman wore a black cloak with two long sleeves. She wore thigh-high boots and a strapless codpiece that barely covered her crotch.

"Lady Azrael, it is an honor to have you here," the woman bowed to the Archangel.

"Likewise. Is Shiva or any of the Trimurti here Sarasvati?" Azrael asked.

"Yes, they are having tea over there," the now-named Sarasvati pointed in a direction west of where they arrived. Azrael and Issei thanked her and began to walk in that direction.

They walked for several minutes until they saw a table with four people seated around eating and drinking tea. Issei recognized the blue-haired middle schooler as Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction. There was also a black-haired female who looked to be in her middle school years as well. Across from them sat two men. One was a man with black hair and red eyes and the other was a man with green hair and red eyes.

"Azrael! You still look as hot as ever! Wanna go out and get some lunch in New Dehli. On me of course," the green-haired one said flirting with her. Issei was about to explode at him when Azrael spoke.

"You should know by now that you would never have a chance with me, Vishnu," Azrael dismissed his efforts. Vishnu pouted and became depressed. He sat a ways away from the table with a rain cloud over his head.

"Azrael, it's been so long since you came here," the black-haired man said.

"It has been hasn't it Brahma," Azrael smiled at him. The female looked at Issei and smiled.

"Hello Red Dragon Boy, I am Parvati, Goddess of Love, Beauty, Marriage, and Power," Parvati said in a pleasant voice. Issei's eyes grew wide and he bowed before her and Shiva.

"Hmm, you bow to them but not to us," Vishnu said pouting once more.

"I'm sorry Vishnu-sama," Issei said bowing deeply. Vishnu let out a booming laugh as he fell back. Brahma looked at his brother dryly. He bowed in return to Issei and introduced himself.

"Young Cambion, I am Brahma, God of Creation. This idiot next to me is Vishnu, God of Preservation and Protection," Brahma said to him. Issei nodded.

Shiva looked at Issei curiously.

"Well, Red Dragon Boy, it seems that you need something. Something about a certain Goddess perhaps?" Shiva said with a twinkle in his eye. Issei nodded his face serious.

"Parvati, why don't you take over for me?" Shiva said grabbing a cookie. Parvati rolled her eyes.

"Kali is the Goddess of Destruction and Time. She is one of the members of the court of the Tridevi, the female counterpart of the Trimurti. You will be in the fight of your life young child," Parvati said calmly sipping her tea.

"Well, is there any way I can even hope to defeat her?" Issei said. Shiva put a hand on his chin. He looked at Issei and smiled.

"Not without revealing yourselves," he said with a smile. Issei's eyes grew wide. How did he know!?

"Don't look so surprised young one. I know Miasma when I feel it," Shiva said sensing Issei's miasma. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"How strange. You feel just like her. You even act like her," Shiva commented offhandedly. Issei narrowed his eyes. This was the second person who had said that with Ophis being the first. Issei looked to Azrael for help but she just looked at him in the same way as Shiva. Just who the hell did he remind them of!?

"Do you wish to stay for tea?" Brahma said offering him some tea and cookies. Issei nodded gratefully and grabbed a cookie and began to devour it. Azrael took the teapot and poured herself some tea. The rest of the conversation was just small talk. Vishnu teased Issei about his new harem while Parvati gushed over true love or something.

* * *

**Lucifaad, February 2, 2020, 3:00 PM**

Sirzechs sat in the Leaders' Box waiting for the next match and watched his sister's interview.

"_Lady Gremory or is it future Lady Hyoudou now? Where is the Red Dragon Emperor? This is the third consecutive game you've won without him," the reporter said._

"_Um, Issei is my trump card. As you know, you should never reveal your finishing hand to all your opponents after all!" Rias said haughtily with her hands on her hips._

"_When can we expect to see him?" another reporter asked._

"_The finals!" she said before leaving._

He heard the sound of wood breaking. Grayfia's eyes were glowing and the arms of the chair were frozen. Millicas and Lily were hiding behind Ichika and Houki who themselves were hiding behind Chifuyu, who was in a defensive stance. Chifuyu was a woman with a regal type of beauty with long black hair that split much like her brother's. She was currently wearing a black business suit with a skirt. Sirzechs put a hand on his wife's shoulders and she calmed down and saw the effect she had on Lily and Millicas. She smiled at them and the two smiled back. Millicas ran over and sat on Sirzechs lap and Lily flew over to Grayfia using her wings and sat on her lap.

"How are you enjoying the Underworld so far, Orimura-san?" Grayfia said brushing Lily's hair with a comb she pulled out of a magic circle. Chifuyu relaxed at the tone of her voice. Devils. When Ichika told her they existed, she almost called the psychiatrist until Ichika and Houki practically dragged her to their dorm room to see a boy named Issei sitting on Houki's bed, or what was left of it, stroking a black dragon. Ever since they moved to Kuoh, Chifuyu's life had taken a drastic turn. Tabane had taken the shift better and was currently talking to one of the Maou. Tabane was a beautiful woman with long violet hair with a curvaceous figure and a large bust. She mostly wore a lab coat with a filly maid-like dress underneath. On her head was a pair of robotic rabbit ears. She had a blush on her face. About time too.

"It has been well Lucifer-sama. Though it would be better if everyone didn't look at me, Tabane, or Houki like pieces of meat," Chifuyu said. She did not want to piss off a being of his caliber. Sirzechs and Grayfia leaned their necks and saw Ajuka talking to Tabane. That was something they thought they'd never see. Ajuka talking to women. Ajuka had been a recluse ever since Saala Dantalion died during the Civil War. It was nice seeing him open up to another woman.

"I apologize though after this I think you don't have to worry about your friend there being stared at," Grayfia said pointing out the two next to her. Chifuyu looked at her best friend one last time and smiled. An announcement from Naud got their attention.

* * *

Eden Squad was teleported into a bunch of massive ruins. There were mountains and arid areas on all sides.

"Where are we?" Issei asked. His question was answered by Naud's announcement.

"_Hello, Supernatural World! I am Naud and as you all know, today I'm joined by Ravina Phenex! This upcoming match is going to be one of the best today! We are joined by fan-favorite and underdog team: Eden Squad! Ever since they started, Eden Squad has been pit against two God Class Beings! Now, this match might be there last! Their opponent today is Kali, Goddess of Destruction! So far, she has lost no members during the entirety of the Games! Will this be their last? What do you think Lady Phenex?" Naud asked._

"_I believe that Eden Squad might lose this one. Kali is a Goddess whose power rivals that of our own Super Devils," Ravina said to him._

"_You all remember the rules. 10 minute grace period!" he said starting the timer._

"Alright Issei, what did Shiva tell you? Anything!?" Rossweisse said. She was panicking. Odin had told her stories of Kali. She was a goddess with no mercy and while she could not kill them, she would ruthlessly take them out one by one.

"Shiva and Parvati only told me what we already knew. The only way we could beat her is to blow our covers," Issei said. The others stiffened. It had been two weeks since the Games started and they knew at some point they would have to reveal themselves.

"Maybe we don't have to," Ingvild told them. They all looked at her confused.

"Shiva means that Issei might have to use Boosted Gear to reveal himself but Issei has a different power now. Ophis gave him knowledge over Miasma. Issei can you do silent Boosts?" Ingvild asked him. Issei nodded.

"I can also use my Abyss Dragon Drive. No one has seen it yet," Issei told them.

"Alright. This match will start with us hitting the ground running. They're heading here as we speak using the ten minutes to attack us the minute the period ends," Ingvild told them. They all looked at her shocked.

"H-how do you know that?" Gasper asked.

"I've sent out a couple of water dragons and hid them behind rocks," she said with her eyes turning red.

"_Time's up! Match start!" Ravina chirped happily._

A blast of pure flaming red energy flew out from the sky. Ingvild raised a massive water shield and Rossweisse raised a barrier of pure energy. The beam impacted the combined shields kicking up steam.

"Guys, do you sense anything!?" Issei asked. A hand shot out from the mist and attempted to grab Issei. Issei's eyes shifted to black. The hand was shot back and Issei swiped his hand sending out a telekinetic wave dispersing the mist. In front of them were eight people. There was a woman with dark blue hair and dark blue eyes. She had tan skin. Underneath her left eyes was a small tattoo and she wore a black spaghetti strap top with a low cut black skirt and a black choker. Over her top, she wore a white biker's jacket.

The woman next to her looked regal in every sense of the word. She had black hair and blue eyes and a white and black battle dress.

The man next to him was a man with dark skin and black hair with violet tattoos over his upper torso. He wore white pants and no shoes.

Next to him was a man with dark skin, dark eyes, black hair and wore white robes. He held a bow in his hand.

The man standing behind him was a man with stark white skin and white hair with green eyes wearing a black jumpsuit that exposed some of his chest. There was a red gem embedded in his chest and he held a golden spear in his hand.

Another man stood next to him. He had a feminine look with red hair and wore red armor.

A man stood next to the woman who looked to be at the head of it all. The man had a massive circle behind his back and had orange hair and wore no shirt with red pants.

Finally, a woman with indigo-colored hair, green eyes, and a pink colored dress. She was floating lazily in the air.

"Hello, Kurenai Akagami. I am Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Destruction," the woman with the tattoo under her eyes said. She gestured to the regal-looking woman.

"This is Durga."

Then, she motioned over to the two dark-skinned men.

"This is Ganesh and Arjuna."

She looked to the white-skinned man.

"This is Karna."

And finally, she motioned to the effeminate man, the orange-haired man, and the indigo haired woman.

"Finally, these are Rama, Krishna, and Lahkshmibai," Kali said.

"I'm Kurenai Akagami," Issei said bowing.

Irina curtsied using her cloak.

"My name is Seraphina," she said.

Rossweisse went next bowing causing her white cloak to flutter.

"Summer Rose. Pleasure."

Kiba bowed.

"I am Taki Aozaki."

Ingvild curtsied with her robed dress.

"I am Isabel Lucross."

Mitsuki bowed like her twin.

"I am Aoi Akagami."

Gasper went last bowing a gentleman's bow.

"I am Alucard. No relation to the Count."

"Very well then. Shall we get started?" Kali said summoning several balls of energy behind her. The entirety of Eden Squad dropped either dropped into stances or summoned magic circles. As Issei summoned Boosted Gear in Calamity Mode, his eyes grew wide when Kiba was knocked back by Karna.

_W-wha? What speed!_, Issei bent backward as Kali tried to deliver a devastating roundhouse to his head. Issei summoned several spikes of darkness to attack Kali. The goddess easily avoided them and Issei jumped back.

"Don't get distracted now, Kurenai," Kali said summoning a ball of white energy. Issei's eyes shifted to black. The battle had truly begun.

* * *

Vali and his team sat in the back of the Leaders' Box having been invited by Azazel. Kuroka was worried about Issei. The battle barely started and Kali's team had already managed to split them apart.

"Kuroka-san," Kuroka turned to Le Fay, "Issei will be alright so don't worry," she finished smiling. Vali nodded.

"Don't underestimate my rival. I bet he has a couple of tricks up his sleeve," Vali said staring at the screen. Kuroka bit her cheek and looked back at the fight.

* * *

Irina was immediately singled out by Durga. She was currently on the defensive dodging and deflecting Durga's trident. She was hit a few times evidenced by the rips on her cloak and her bleeding cheek. Irina decided to go in for a hit after Durga's next attack. Her eyes glowed and Irina produced a light blast to blind Durga.

Durga's first mistake in this fight was forgetting the angel could use light. The angel, Seraphina made effective use of it blinding her. She felt an immense pain and a warm liquid run down her chest. Durga blindly swiped her trident and hit something. Once her eyes returned to normal, she saw the angel in a deadlock trying to force back her trident. Durga grinned and pushed back with more strength.

Irina was currently being pushed back. She struggled to keep herself standing as the goddess pushed back against Hauteclere with more force. Irina needed to think of something fast. Irina had an idea. She knew flashing her with light wouldn't work a second time so she poured her light into Hauteclere heating the blade to extreme temperatures.

Durga noticed her trident's blade begin to smoke. The metal was bending and turning red. The bitch was melting it! She immediately wrenched her trident from the superheated sword and that was all it took for the angel to make her move.

"**Astelia Nova!**" an arc of white energy flew from the sword forcing Durga to raise an energy barrier.

Irina took the time to summon the **Angelic Dragon Booster**. A white and gold gauntlet with an emerald gem on the back of the hand appeared on her right arm.

**[Boost x25]**

Irina felt a massive rush of power inside her body. Irina delivered an ax kick to Durga's jaw sending the goddess flying into the air. She flew after her and unleashed a barrage of halo discs battering the goddess's form. A blue beam of energy cut through the onslaught of light discs causing them to explode. Durga appeared in front of her surrounded by a blue aura and punched Irina in the stomach. It was only thanks to the Rook Trait of the Queen Piece that Irina didn't take as much damage as she should have from the attack.

"You're good angel but not good enough," Durga said as she summoned two chakra disks.

Irina gripped Hauteclere tighter. Damn, if only she had a Balance Breaker like Rias did when she used Crimson Extinct Dragonar. Irina unleashed all ten of her wings and flew straight at Durga resuming their fight.

* * *

Gasper dodged the sword swipes of the effeminate looking man in front of him. As he backed away, he tripped on a rock and hit his head on the ground. He looked up dizzy and saw a blade headed for his torso. He immediately dispersed into a flock of bats.

Rama raised his arm up as a swarm of bats flew around him. He saw the vampire reform behind him and fire a shadow ball impacting his back. Rama was driven into the ground but quickly recovered.

Gasper looked at him and activated **Forbidden Balor View**. Rama unleashed a wave of energy slashes at him. Gasper's eyes glowed and froze them all in mid-air. Gasper looked up in shock when he saw Rama appear in front of him.

Rama kicked Alucard in the stomach and followed it up with a devastating right hook to Alucard's jaw. He heard something crack and was satisfied that he had done some damage.

Gasper flew a few feet away and fell to the ground. He struggled to get up. He felt something rise up from his throat and vomited a large glob of blood from his mouth. He looked at Rama, who was walking towards him slowly. Ingvild was right. They were showing absolutely no restraint and attacked with the aim to severely injure them.

_I'm sorry Senpai_, Gasper thought as Rama pinned him by planting his foot on his chest. As Rama raised his sword to slam its hilt onto Gasper's face, he heard a voice.

"_**Pathetic."**_

Gasper's eyes widened slightly.

"_Balor?"_

"_**Yes, weakling it is I. The evil god Balor,**_" Balor said inside his head.

"_What do you want?"_ Gasper said.

"_**To give you power. Imagine what would happen if the others found out that my host lost to a pathetic swordsman underneath that bitch, Kali's, command,**_" Balor said.

"_Why? What's the catch?" _Gasper asked.

"_**That blood you drank from the Red Dragon Emperor. Combine it with me! And then you will have the power to crush all who dare oppose you!**_" Balor said while laughing madly.

Gasper thought for a minute and saw Rama prepare to slam the pommel of his sword down.

"_I'll do it!"_

"_**Excellent choice, mortal**_," Balor said as a rush of power filled Gasper.

"Goodnight kid," Rama said until he felt himself freeze.

_I can't move!_ Rama thought. He stared at the Alucard's eyes.

His eyes were glowing red. The shadows around them became more pronounced as they began to heal Gasper. Gasper raised his palm and slammed it on the ground summoning a massive magic circle. Several demonic shadow golems rose from the ground and began to attack Rama.

Gasper took off in a burst of speed and planted his foot in Rama's face sending the swordsman crashing through several pillars.

Rama looked up and saw Alucard appear above him. Behind him was a massive dog made of shadows with deep crimson eyes like that of Alucard. The dog bit into his leg causing him to scream in pain.

Gasper commanded the dog the throw Rama. The dog obeyed its master and slammed Rama into the ground.

Gasper drop kicked Rama's stomach causing the man to spit blood.

All Rama felt was pain. How the hell did the kid get so strong all of a sudden?

_I have to use it!_ he thought.

"**Brahmastra!**" a disc made of pure light flew towards Gasper nearly taking his head off. Gasper's eyes grew wide as he saw the disc impact the barrier causing it to crack. He turned his gaze to Rama, who slowly rose to his feet. Gasper felt something run down his cheek. He reached up with his finger to touch it.

Blood?

Suddenly, several cuts formed all over Gasper spraying blood all over the area. He turned tp see Rama sheathing his sword. Gasper fell to one knee. He was struggling to stay conscious due to the amount of blood he had just lost.

"You almost had me there. But now is the time to get serious," he said as he drew his sword once more.

Gasper grit his teeth as the shadows were slowly healing him using the blood spilled from the surroundings. Gasper summoned more golems and charged Rama alongside them.

* * *

_**If you want, play Fate Apocrypha OST #1: Main Soundtrack**_

Kiba and Karna separated from their clash in mid-air. Karna was smiling and pointed his lance at Kiba.

"You're good. The best I've had since I died and came back," Karna said.

"Thank you," Kiba said, "shall we continue?"

Karna's response was to charge him. Kiba responded in kind and the red and blue streaks collided creating a massive shock wave that shook the arena. Kiba summoned Balmung and swung at the fire created by Karna slicing it and a large part of the ruins apart.

Karna flew into the air and summoned several red energy spears and rained them down on Kiba. The arena shook as a massive mushroom cloud rose into the air. The shockwave tore apart a large part of the arena causing the other fighters to fly into the air.

"What the hell!" Mitsuki said as she stared at the mushroom cloud. Her opponent, Ganesh, looked at the explosion with similar thoughts. The ruins were well in ruins.

Karna looked down and saw a massive beam of blue energy streaking into the sky. He saw Taki swing his sword down. He brought out his orbitars to shield him causing the energy beam to split around him tearing up even more of the terrain.

The arena shook as everyone, even the audience, struggled to maintain their balance.

In the dust cloud, Karna's right eye began to glow red. He fired a red beam of energy at Kiba. Kiba saw it coming and barely dodged it in time. The area behind him exploded. Karna unleashed a massive beam of energy causing wherever the beam traveled to explode. In front of Karna, the entire arena was reduced to flames and rubble. His eyes grew wide when he saw the glint of a sword and Kiba flew from the flames with his hoodie partially burnt mainly at the sleeves covered in his Balance Breaker propulsors.

Karna and Kiba flew across the arena trading blows with their weapons. Karna kicked Kiba away and flew into the air. He positioned his spear like a javelin and threw it.

"**Brahmastra Kundala!**" he threw the lance as it became engulfed in red flame-like energy. The spear broke the sound barrier as a red sonic boom came from it and the spear flew towards Kiba.

Kiba poured more energy into Balmung causing it to glow blue and swung it to deflect the lance. Karna watched as his lance came into contact with the energized sword causing their surroundings to break apart.

"What will you do no-!" Karna dodged as an energy slash flew by him slicing apart a building-sized piece of rubble that was thrown into the air from the attacks. Another one flew by forcing him to land lest he got hit.

"Expending your mana just to defeat your opponent. A desperate yet effective tactic. Well, then allow me to respond in kind," Karna said levitating into the air. He raised his hand and his lance reappeared. The gem on his chest began to glow red and his bracers and orbitars transformed into red flaming energy and merged with the lance. The lance changed color from gold to black with its tip going from a circular with spikes to a massive glaive like object. A massive beam of red energy shot into the air heating everything. The ground and ruins around Kiba began to melt and turn into magma. Kiba watched and tightened his grip around Balmung. His clothes were beginning to burn. At this rate, his identity would be revealed. He needed to finish this. Kiba looked up at Karna, who looked like the sun, as he began to speak.

"Knight of Akagami. You have been the best opponent I have had since Lady Kali pulled me from the afterlife. Please tell me your name! I promise you no one will be able to hear it!" Karna said.

"Yuuto! Yuuto Kiba!" he said.

"A great name befitting a warrior such as yourself! Very well! Let us end this with our strongest attacks! This is the most powerful attack I have at my disposal. I dedicate this to you with the utmost respect" Karna said. Kiba smiled and poured all of his power into Balmung causing it to be engulfed in blue energy. Kiba took off spreading his wings. Both knights began to chant an aria.

"**Know the mercy of the King of the Gods!**" Karna chanted.

"_The evil dragon shall fall…_" Kiba became a blur as he sped to Karna.

"**This is destruction! This rift!**"

"_And the world shall see another sunset!"_ Kiba poured more power as he chanted.

"**Burn! Vasavi Shakti!**" Karna roared as he launched the spear.

"_Fall! Balmung!_" Kiba swung the sword unleashing a massive beam of blue energy.

The two powerful attacks fought for supremacy as neither warrior let up pushing their full power into the attacks. Kiba began to falter and was being slowly pushed back by the spear.

_Dammit! More power!_ Kiba thought as he poured the last bit of his power into it. That's when he heard it.

"_**Bishop of Kali has been eliminated!**_" Rossweisse. She must have taken advantage of the distraction caused by their fight and took out Kali's bishop, Arjuna. He saw Rossweisse blast through the rubble and point her wand at Karna's attack.

"**Continuum Seal: Gate!**" the air rippled as runes filled the sky. He saw both his and Karna's ultimate attacks being sucked in.

"Taki! Go!" Rossweisse yelled as she contained the blast. Karna was just shocked to see the Valkyrie appear. He felt his hair stand on end as he turned to see Kiba with Balmung raised ready to eliminate him. Karna summoned a field of red lasers that Kiba cut apart. He kicked Karna out of the sky. He threw Balmung and kicked its pommel sending it in Karna's direction.

Karna looked to see the blade of Balmung headed his way and deflected it with his lance. He saw Kiba land across from it and go to grab it.

Kiba dashed to grab Balmung but was beaten to it by the flaming form of Karna. Kiba smirked as his hand glowed.

"**Shock to Kill!**" Kiba thrust the sword, Tyrfing, stabbing it into Karna's torso causing the man to spit out blood. In the distance, a massive explosion shook all of Lucifaad and the surrounding areas. Rossweisse landed next to Kiba as he pulled Tyrfing out of Karna. Karna fell back holding his side. Kiba was panting. Karna fell to one knee and looked at Kiba before smiling.

"You did well, Yuuto," Karna said. Kiba looked at him with respect in his eyes.

"Your king is currently fighting our king. Do not even think to go fight the other pieces. Assist your king. I fear that Kali will not be so kind to him during this match," he said as he faded.

"What a pain… I wish to fight again soon Yuuto," Karna said before he fully faded.

_**End Fate Apocrypha OST 1: Main Theme**_

"_**Two Knights of Kali have been eliminated!"**_ Naud said. Rossweisse and Kiba looked at each other. Gasper must have won against Rama. Gasper flew towards them.

"We have to help, Senpai!" Gasper said. The two nodded and flew off in Issei's direction.

* * *

Mitsuki landed on the scorched remains of the arena. Across from her was a battered Ganesh. She wasn't looking very good herself. The god had pushed her to the limit without using her balance breaker.

_Do I have to use my trump card? _She thought.

"It seems that Kali is starting to get serious," Ganesh said looking off at the violet aura in the distance. Mitsuki sensed the rise in power as well. It had been constant since two pieces from Kali's team were eliminated. She needed to finish this. Over to her side, Ingvild was fighting off both Lakshmibai and Krishna at the same time. She was surrounded by a swarm of water sharks and water dragons. Each one hissed and snapped at one of the attackers

"Focus on your own fight!" Ganesh said as he brought his ax down on Mitsuki. She narrowly dodged the blade as it hit the ground creating a massive gash on the arena floor.

Mitsuki turned her gaze to Ganesh. She needed to finish this now.

"What no words," the god said as he summoned another ax. Mitsuki smirked. Her form flickered and two clones appeared next to her. Ganesh narrowed his eyes.

_Clones?_ Ganesh thought as he looked at what she did. The three Mitsuki's blurred out of existence and reappeared in different areas. All three of them began to chant.

"_**Ye who dwell on the face of Creation**_," all of them chanted. Ganesh's eyes widened. She was casting a spell. But what kind? He ran towards one of them and slashed his ax. Mitsuki dodged and kicked him back.

"_**Are bound and subject by my will.**_" Ganesh chased her sure that she was the real one since she avoided the attack. He threw his ax hitting her in the back. Mitsuki faded from existence signifying that she was a clone.

"_**Obey and be subject to my Grand Design!**_" the other clone was slashed by Ganesh causing it to fade. He turned to the real Mitsuki and saw her engulfed in blue light. The girl was now covered in black futuristic armor. She had a v-shaped visor on the helmet. Blue energy lines pulsated across the armor.

_Her power level just surpassed mine!_ Ganesh panicked. The girl started to walk towards him. Ganesh formed a ball of yellow energy and threw it at her.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST GO DOWN!" he yelled as he barraged her with energy sphere after energy sphere. Mitsuki grabbed Ganesh's hand and snapped it causing the hand to scream in pain. He looked at the girl who turned her right arm into a cannon. An orange magic circle formed in her hand and began to spin.

"For what it's worth," she said, "I thought you were a bit of an arrogant douche. I wonder how Kali won without losing you in her matches. You're clearly not cut out for battle. **Extinction Ray.**" A beam of orange flaming energy engulfed Ganesh. He had lost the minute she entered that form. Mitsuki had imposed her will on his probability of winning. She had essentially rewritten his fate in the match. Mitsuki turned her gaze towards where Ingvild was.

Ingvild was having a difficult time. She knew that she would have a chance at taking Lakshmibai down but when Krishna came out of nowhere. She pushed back on the defensive. She grit her teeth as she summoned a massive wave of water towards Krishna who retaliated with a ball of fire. Lakshmibai appeared next to her and thrust her scimitar. Ingvild caught it in a water tendril and wrenched the sword from her hand. She formed a water bullet and shot Lakshmibai in the chest causing her to crash into a pile of smoldering rubble.

"**Sun God's Wrath!**" Krishna said as a rain of fire came down from the sky. Ingvild's form flickered as all the attacks missed. Ingvild turned to see Mitsuki in her new armor standing next to her.

"Need help," she said. Ingvild looked at her gratefully.

"Hold him off while I activate my Balance Breaker," she said. Mitsuki nodded and engaged the sun god.

"**Positive Karma Ball!**" Mitsuki launched the blue energy ball at Krishna.

"**Agni Road!**" a stream of red fire clashed with the ball pushing it back. Mitsuki jumped above him with several spinning magic circles over her.

"**Fallen Down!**" a massive beam of energy crashed down on the unsuspecting god. Mitsuki landed on the ground across from the smoldering crater. Smoke rose from it. Suddenly, Mitsuki felt a sharp pain in her side. She looked down and saw a light dagger stabbed into her armor. She turned to see Lakshmibai with her hand outstretched.

_Damnit, I forgot about her!_ Mitsuki fell to one knee clutching her side. She was a devil and light from beings with divine nature was poisonous to her. Lakshmibai formed a scimitar made of light and raised it over her head.

"**Balance Breaker: Blood Dragon Ascension!**" the ground exploded as a massive blood-red dragon rose from the ground and towered over Lakshmibai. Ingvild stared at her with her red eyes.

"**Deep Crimson Spiral**," the dragon opened all eight of its mouths. Eight massive spheres of crimson energy formed. Ingvild suddenly aimed towards the smoke causing all eight energy spheres to impact Krishna. The god was launched back and flew until Mitsuki appeared behind him driving her elbow into his spine. Mitsuki finished him off with an energy blast.

"_**Rook of Kali has been eliminated! Eden Squad is on a roll!**_" Naud announced.

Lakshmibai was now surrounded by both pieces of Kurenai Akagami. She began to think of a way out of this situation.

_What to do? Last resort move? Self destruct? The one in blue armor seems to be tired. So does the one with purple hair,_ without warning, Lakshmibai launched a fire spell at Ingvild. Ingvild was surprised at the sphere of flames headed in her direction. Mitsuki seeing no time to alter the flames' trajectory jumps in front of Ingvild taking the full force of the flames. Due to the injuries she received earlier from the knife and her battle with both Ganesh and Krishna, Mitsuki was knocked out of the game as the fire consumed her.

"_**Knight of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Ingvild's eyes grew wide as Mitsuki dissolved into light particles. She turned her now furious gaze towards the smirking pawn of Kali. The pawn did something that just made her life harder.

"**Promotion: Queen!**" Ingvild stared at the pawn from atop her Balance Breaker.

"Time to end this. This will be Lady Kali's victory today!" Lakshmibai said charging at the Bishop.

"You hurt my friend. The one who accepted me despite having no reason to," Ingvild said in a low voice. A few tears fell from her face. She raised her palm.

Lakshmibai felt as if she lost control of her body. She turned to the Bishop of Kurenai Akagami who stared at her with those baleful red eyes.

"Stay still for me," she said, "**Sanguine Annihilation.**"

The eight dragon heads all turned their gaze on Lakshmibai. They opened their mouths and unleashed a torrent of red energy on the poor pawn. Not even her Queen Durability saved her as she was eliminated from the Game.

"_**Pawn of Kali had been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. Ingvild stood on top of her Balance Breaker for a few minutes before ordering her summon to head in Issei's direction.

* * *

Issei and Irina fought back to back defending each other from the attacks of the two Goddesses. Durga had decided it would be a great idea to attack both Issei and Irina at once.

"Isn't this fun Seraphina? You get to fight and lose with your king!" Durga cackled as she launched a barrage of energy spears. Issei erected a dome of darkness deflecting all of them.

"Irina. **Heaven and Hell**," Issei said. Irina formed a light spear and prepared to throw it. Issei dispelled the dome and Irina threw it straight at Durga.

Durga smirked.

_Seriously? A light spear?_ Durga just stood there confident that the spear would shatter upon impact. She felt a burning hot pain in her leg. Durga screamed in agony as she looked down at the flaming spear.

Kali narrowed her eyes. That flame. The energy it gave off felt familiar. She tried to remember and instantly recalled a memory of a white-haired woman with blue eyes standing over her smirking. As she recalled, Shiva had called her the Firstborn.

"So, you have the same power as her huh?" Kali said with her bangs covering her eyes. She looked at him with pure hatred. Her eyes began to glow white.

"**Severing of the Physical World**," a white sphere of energy formed in Kali's hand. The sphere fired a beam of white translucent energy towards Issei and Irina.

**|Dragon Shot|** the white beam collided with the blue energy shot completely eating through it. Issei's eyes grew wide as he and Irina ducked. He looked at where they stood and a perfect circle remained.

"I couldn't even land a scratch on her. She humiliated me. You are like her so beating you will be like beating her right?" Kali said with a demented grin. Durga began to inch away from her King.

Issei's eyes narrowed. There it was again. Who did he remind them of? Here in front of him was the perfect opportunity to get the answers he wanted.

"Who exactly do I remind everyone of!?" Issei yelled.

"You don't know. Well, allow me to enlighten you. They call her the Firstborn. That's all I know," Kali said as she created more white energy spheres. Issei looked at her. He saw Kiba and Rossweisse appear behind her and attack. Durga was immediately sent to the ground.

Rossweisse sent a fire blast at Kali. The goddess simply turned around and flicked the flames with her finger dispelling it.

"Annoying…" Kali said sending an energy blast at Rossweisse. She barely dodged it and the blast reduced a massive portion of the arena floor to dust.

"Durga, take care of these annoyances. I'll deal with Akagami and his queen," Kali said. Durga nodded and went to face Kiba, Rossweisse, and Gasper.

"Sorry kids but its way past your bedtime," Durga said. Rossweisse, Kiba, and Gasper readied themselves to fight the goddess. A beam of red energy came out of nowhere and hit Durga. They saw Ingvild with her Balance Breaker standing behind them.

Durga swiped the smoke away. It was the Bishop, Isabel. If she was here then that meant that Lakshmibai, Ganesh, and Krishna were eliminated from the match. She narrowed her eyes.

"More nuisances," she muttered. Durga raised her hand and several weapons made of black light appeared in the air. Durga commanded the weapons to fly at the four forcing them to dodge. Ingvild commanded her dragon to attack Durga. Durga formed an energy glaive and sliced off one of the dragon's heads. Kiba appeared behind her with Balmung and Tyrging ready to cut into her side.

Durga flicked her wrist sending Kiba crashing into a pillar. The others looked on. She was telekinetic like Issei. Durga unleashed a devastating energy blast that consumed Kiba and leveled the rest of the ruins.

"_**Knight of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. She turned her gaze back to the three. Durga appeared in front of Ingvild and swung her glaive. Gasper reacted fast enough to freeze Durga's arm in time allowing Ingvild to fly away.

"**Primordial Rune: Flames of Surtr!**" Rossweisse formed a massive flaming prison around Durga but she wasn't finished yet.

"**Primordial Rune: Eternal Prison of Niflheim!**" a crystal made of pure ice formed around the flaming prison entrapping Durga inside the frozen crystal. The three looked carefully at the trapped Goddess. The ice slowly began to crack. Black light was pouring out of the cracks and was shattered by Durga. She looked amused at their efforts.

"I applaud you for her efforts to trap me. However, you are nowhere near the level to be able to fight a deity," Durga said. Durga sent an energy blast at Ingvild eliminating her from the match.

"_**Bishop of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated**_," Naud announced.

Rossweisse and Gasper took a step back. Ingvild was currently the strongest piece on their side and Durga took her out like she was nothing.

Suddenly, they heard an announcement that chilled the remaining members of Eden Squad to the bone. Not the announcement itself, no, they were chilled by the aftermath of the announcement.

"_**Queen of Kurenai Akagami has been eliminated.**_"

* * *

Issei and Irina assaulted Kali with their combined efforts. Kali looked bored as she parried both of their attacks. Kali swiped her scimitar at Issei knocking Ascalon out of his hand.

Irina poured a massive amount of light into Hauteclere. She charged at Kali.

"**Phantom Claiomh Solais!**" Irina unleashed a barrage of slashes at Kali. To onlookers, it looked like a single attack but in reality, it was one thousand slashes in a single instant. Kali was hit by all one thousand attacks. The goddess grew angry and kicked Irina out of her way. She was bleeding from cuts all over her body.

"I'll destroy you for that girl," Kali said forming her destructive white sphere. Issei appeared behind her.

**|Calamity Breaker: Catastrophe Lunar Emperor Mode!|** Issei landed a solid hit at the back of Kali's head sending her into the ground. The ground exploded and Kali was surrounded in a white aura. She raised her hand and fired an energy blast. Issei dodged the attack and channeled his power over to where Kali stood.

**|Calamity|** a massive explosion erupted underneath Kali forcing her into the air. Kali held her palm out at Issei and formed a fist.

"**Decomposition of the Primal World!**" a cube formed around Issei and began to close in on him corroding his armor. Issei's eyes glowed green and a burst of darkness shattered the cube.

Kali appeared in front of Issei and threw a punch. Issei blocked it with his arm in an x-formation.

Irina appeared behind her and swung Hauteclere at Kali's unprotected back inflicting a deep gash. Kali swung around and backhanded Irina sending her crashing into one of the remaining structures.

"Seraphina!" Issei rushed over to Kali and rammed his fist in her gut. There was a crunch heard as Issei's fist shattered one of Kali's ribs. The goddess gasped in pain as she stumbled back in midair clutching her right side. Her eyes twitched in anger. As she looked at Issei, she saw the silhouette of a woman with white hair with her bangs styled in an upward ponytail. The woman's silhouette smirked at her. The minute Kali saw that smirk. She lost it.

"RAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!" she roared and was engulfed in a white aura.

"YOU! EVEN NOW YOU MOCK ME FIRSTBORN! DIEEEE!" Kali unleashed a white cylindrical blast of energy at Issei with her full power. Issei froze as the blast neared him.

Irina dug her way out of the rubble and saw Kali fire an energy blast at Issei.

"ISSEI!" she screamed as she flew towards him at full speed. Using her knight speed and her own speed, she appeared in front of Issei and swung Hauteclere at the blast.

Issei watched as the blast exploded knocking him back. The last thing he saw before he snapped was Irina with cuts, burns, and blood covering her body. Her beautiful eyes looked at him one last time before she passed out and was retired.

"_**Queen of Kurenai Akagami eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Issei stood there frozen staring at the spot where Irina used to be.

"Irina?" Issei said. Issei's eyes turned black and his irises began to glow an eerie green.

"You hurt her! You hurt my RIN!" a black and green aura surrounded Issei. His armor shifted to a black armor with red skeletal wings. Lines of crimson decorated the armor as Issei pulsated with power.

**[|ABYSS DRAGON DRIVE!|]** the voices of Ddraig and Tiamat could be heard throughout the arena. Kali took a step back at the amount of power radiating from the boy.

* * *

Rias and the rest of the ORC watched in shock when they heard the name that Seraphina yelled. Issei. Kurenai Akagami was Issei!

"Rias," Akeno said with a teary face.

"Yeah, Akeno, he's here," Rias said.

* * *

The leaders looked on in shock. Issei was Kurenai?

"Sirzechs, how long have you and the other members of the Biblical Pantheon known?" Odin asked him. Shiva chuckled while Amaterasu looked at Sirzechs with a glare that was ruined by her pout.

"Issei asked us to keep it a secret. We didn't want to break his trust," Azazel said dismissively.

Odin relaxed and accepted the explanation. The other deities were less than accepting wondering why the Red Dragon Emperor wanted to keep his identity a secret bu accepted it nonetheless.

* * *

Kali watched the boy, no the girl called him Issei. This boy in front of her was the Red Dragon Emperor. She readied herself when Issei raised his palm towards her.

Issei poured Miasma into his palm and focused it. A black magic circle formed and a stream of dark tendrils poured forth attempting to grab Kali. Kali weaved her way around the tendrils and flew over to Issei to punch him in the face. Her eyes grew wide when Issei caught her fist. She tried to pull her fist back only for Issei's grip to tighten around it.

Issei began to slowly crush her fist causing Kali to scream in pain.

Kali opened her free hand and unleashed a blast of destructive energy forcing Issei to let go of her fist. The smoke cleared and he was still standing there unharmed.

"**Satanic Blast…**" Issei said as a massive black orb filled with iridescent colors formed above his head. He fired the blast at Kali hitting her head-on. The entire city of Lucifaad shook due to the force of the blast.

The smoke cleared and Kali floated in midair badly wounded. Her clothes were torn and stained red from her blood. Kali saw Durga appear behind Issei ready to stab him with her trishula into Issei.

Issei turned when he felt something break on the back of his armor. He saw Kali's queen Durga standing there with wide eyes.

"**Chaotic Beam of the Azure Dragon King**," Issei fired a black and blue beam of energy which pierced through Durga's abdomen. She had no time to recover as Issei knocked her out with a chop to her neck eliminating her.

"_**Queen of Kali has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Issei turned his gaze back to Kali. There was fear written all over her face.

_No, it's just like back then_, she thought as the face of the Firstborn kept appearing in her mind.

She clenched her teeth.

"NO! I will defeat you. I will prove that I am strong! Take this! My strongest attack. I developed it specifically for people like you!" Kali yelled as she formed a series of white spheres.

"**Divine Apocalyptic Force of the Destroyer!**" the energy spheres merged together creating a massive energy sphere as tall as a five-story building. She fired a massive beam from it.

Issei hovered there staring as the beam approached. He cupped his hands together and gathered Miasma into it.

"_Ddraig I need a Boost. No point hiding it now,"_ Issei said. Inside, Ddraig smirked.

**[BOOST x100]**

The energy sphere grew in size and Issei fired it.

"**Soul Extinctor!**" a massive beam of dark energy flew to meet the white energy beam of Kali's. The dark beam easily consumed Kali's own energy beam. Kali watched as the darkness consumed her energy. She had no time to even scream as the energy blast consumed her.

Everyone in the stadium stood with their jaws dropped. Naud and Ravina rubbed their eyes to make sure that what they saw was correct. Confirming it, Naud shakily announced,

"_**K-Kali h-has been e-eliminated! Eden Squad led by the Red Dragon Emperor Issei Hyoudou wins!**__" _Naud announced. The stadium erupted into a roar of cheers and applause.

Issei released his **Abyss Dragon Drive** and lowered himself to the ground. He saw Gasper and Rossweisse running towards him.

"Issei, you did it!" Rossweisse planted a deep kiss on Issei. Issei returned the kiss with equal fervor. They separated and waved at the cheering crowd as they were being teleported out of the arena.

* * *

**Lucifaad General Hospital, 7:47 PM**

Issei ran down the hallway to the rooms of his teammates. He burst through the door and saw them. Kiba was heavily bandaged around the arm and torso area due to burns. Mitsuki had fewer bandages due to the fact that her armor mitigated most of the damage before she passed out. Her hair though was slightly shorter. Ingvild's arm was in a sling and there was a bandage around her head. They all looked at Issei with a smile. Issei sighed relief. Behind him, Rossweisse and Gasper walked in and saw their friends were fine.

Issei looked around for Irina.

"Guys, where's Rin?" Issei asked them. Mitsuki smiled and opened the hospital curtain. Irina was sitting there with bandages wrapped around her torso and throat. There was one wrapped around her head and her arms were also wrapped in bandages. Next to her was a nurse with a bottle of Phenex tears. She turned and saw Issei.

"Ise-kun, did we win?" Irina asked him. Issei just smiled a teary smile and went over and sat by her side.

"We won Rin," Issei said softly and gripped her hand. Irina smiled at him.

"Ahem," Issei and Irina turned to see who ruined their moment and saw Vali Team standing there.

"Looks like your cover was blown Hyoudou," Vali told him.

"Had to happen eventually," Issei said. He saw Kuroka run up to him and crashed her lips into his. Kuroka pulled out of the kiss and stared at Issei with a seductive gaze.

"Issei, the way you dominated Kali made me feel hot, nya," Kuroka purred. Issei turned red as Kuroka began to grind her hips causing Issei Jr. to begin to stand. Kuroka felt a chop on her head and saw Vali looking at her and gestured to the door. Maou Lucifer and his wife were standing there covering the eyes of two children. She also saw the other Maou and four people she didn't recognize. Next to them were the Archangels Azrael and Azazel.

"Kuroka-san, please. There are children here," Grayfia said blankly. The two teens she didn't recognize step forward.

"Issei-san that was so cool! Do you think I'll be able to do that?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll teach you how to use your power and help you get stronger Ichika-san" Issei said.

"What did you think of the match Houki-san, Chifuyu-san, Tabane-san?" Irina asked. The women told her that they were amazed. Houki was especially adamant in getting Kiba and Irina to teach her to fight like that.

"Issei," Azrael said. Issei turned to her.

"I'm proud of you. You managed to beat the one person everyone thought would win," Azrael said. Issei puffed up at her praise.

"Thanks, Az-nee," Issei said.

"Ne Ise-kun, can you get me some food," Irina said.

"Yeah, please Issei," everyone chorused. Issei deadpanned. He sighed and left the room. He felt someone pull on his shirt and saw Lily holding Magala. Issei held her hand and they went into the street.

Issei went up to a fast-food restaurant and ordered a massive bag of food. He was walking with Lily back to the hospital when he saw a familiar head of white hair. He immediately ran after it with Lily still holding his hand. He pushed through the crowd and saw that the person wasn't there.

"Big Brother?" Lily asked.

Issei looked around for the person but saw that there was no one. He sighed and looked down at Lily with a smile.

"It's nothing Lily. Let's head back," he said.

"Umu!" she said as she skipped next to him. Magala flew and made her home on Issei's hair. The odd trio walked back to the hospital completely unaware that they were being watched.

A white-haired woman with her bangs tied in an upward ponytail watched as they walked.

"Soon my little Issei-chan. Onee-chan will see you very soon," she said as she disappeared.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 768**

**File Name: Kali**

**GPS Ranking: B-Class Deity Class**

**File: Kali is the Hindu Goddess of Destruction. In the mythos, she is said to be an aspect of the Goddess of Love and Power, Parvati, and the consort of Shiva. In other sects, Kali is worshipped as the ultimate form of God and seen as the supreme deity completely above Shiva himself. Kali is considered by some to be a member of the Tridevi, the female counterpart of the Trimurti consisting of Parvati/Kali, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. **

**Notes:**

**Thoth: This woman is crazy. Do not ever invite her to a party!**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you guys loved the chapter. I ripped off Kiba and Karna's fight scene from Fate/Apocrypha. Specifically, the fight between Sieg and Karna. To my fellow Jeanne fans, you are not alone. Jeanne is Fate waifu. Saber fans fight me! Please review. Reading your reviews makes my day and helps me improve the story. Remember guys and gals, have a great day or not, the choice is yours!**


	18. Western Standoff

**Pyre: Another day, another chapter guys. Please keep reviewing. They give me the strength to keep writing for you all. Also, since we are nearing the end of the first arc, I will take a three to four-day break to update the wiki with everything that happened in the first arc. Many of you want Eden Squad to give Gremory Team the ass-kicking of a lifetime and I assure you that will happen. Let's begin mysterious woman who suddenly appeared in my room.**

**Mystery Woman: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

**Pyre: Ummm... you're not gonna kill me right?**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, February 3, 2020, 11:45 AM; Current Time: 4 Minutes and 57 Seconds til Midnight**

Issei calmly ate the lunch that Kuroka had made for him. Irina sat on the ground across from him with a sandwich in her hands. Kiba was currently polishing his demon swords and Gasper was napping inside his box. Ingvild was playing the piano and Mitsuki was napping with her head on her brother's lap. It had been a hectic day ever since they woke up. Yesterday, when Issei was heading back with the food, he was hounded by reporters all asking him why he wasn't fighting on the Gremory Peerage and who the girl was. Lily hadn't taken the number of people that surrounded them well and freaked out overloading and breaking their cameras.

Issei saw a magic circle form in the middle of the room. Magala came out in her dog form and made her way over to Issei. Issei brought his hand up and began petting her dark fur. She leaned into it and curled up next to Issei. Magala was usually near Lily at all times watching over her but there were times when she just liked being in Issei's company.

Issei heard a beeping noise and pulled out his scroll.

_Eden Squad vs Team Marcosias_

_Agreas, February 6, 2020, 2:00 PM_

"Who is it this time?" Rossweisse asked.

"Team Marcosias," Issei said. At least it wasn't a god this time. Seeing that lunch was over, Issei and the others walked back to their classes. He saw Katase running around handing out flyers. A few days ago, Murayama had gone missing without a trace. Her family had been worried and Katase had been running around town putting up missing posters.

Issei took one and looked.

_Murayama Inori_

_Last Seen: February 1, 2020_

_If seen please contact:..._

Issei felt someone tap his shoulder. It was Ichika.

"We gotta get to class," he said, "Azrael-sama sent me to get you."

Issei nodded and they walked to class.

* * *

**Agreas, February 6, 2020, 4:00 PM**

Issei sat in the Leaders' Box with his team. He had been invited by Sirzechs to come to observe Vali Team's match. Their match was easy enough. The Marcosias heir was arrogant and believed that their wins were all flukes until Issei literally sent only one member of the team to single-handedly wipe out their entire peerage.

**Flashback**

_Hallis Marcosias was a rather portly young man. He believed that everything in the world was his to take including this victory. He had sent all of his peerage members to take out the members of Eden Squad._

"_Marcosias-sama retreat she's co-!" the CC cut off. Hallis narrowed his eyes and looked at his queen. His eyes widened when he saw a light spear embedded in her thigh. Suddenly, she was brutally kicked in the abdomen by a cloaked woman eliminating her._

"_**Queen of Marcosias has been eliminated!**__" Naud announced._

_Hallis took a step back as the cloaked figure took a step back as the figure took a step forward. She spread all ten of her wings and brandished her sword._

_Hallis felt something warm and wet running down his thigh. He had pissed himself in fear. The figure looked amused and raised her sword. Hallis fainted and was eliminated._

**End Flashback**

"Pawn, Bishop, and Knight of Mammon have been eliminated!" Naud announced. Vali and his team were making quick work of the team. The match itself was rather boring. Vali was fighting Rachela Mammon, the younger sister of the Mammon Heir.

"Rachela Mammon has been eliminated! Team White Dragon Emperor of the Morning Star is the winner!" Naud announced.

Issei looked with a smile. Vali's team had advanced to the next part.

"Issei, have you received the notification for your next match?" Serafall asked. Issei shook his head.

"Check now," Gabriel said.

As if on cue, Issei's scroll beeped. He took it out and read the notification and groaned.

_Eden Squad vs Team Set_

_Agreas Stadium, February 8, 2020, 10:00 AM_

Another God? Seriously?

"Why do we have to fight another god?" Issei complained.

"Think of it as training for a much bigger foe," Azrael said dismissively. Issei deadpanned at her. Azrael just smiled a coy smile. The others groaned. They had to fight another god. The hospital already hated them for going through their supply of Phenex tears from their match with Kali. Issei had received a 3-hour lecture from Lady Sitri about hogging medical supplies and that next time they used the hospital supply, it would come out of their own pockets. Thankfully, none of them ended up in the hospital this time and their worst injury was a slightly winded Irina.

"Let's take a look at the team roster," Issei said clicking on it.

_Set (King)_

_Nephtys (Queen)_

_Amos Kane (Bishop)_

_Sadie Kane (Bishop)_

_Carter Kane (Knight)_

_Julius Kane (Knight)_

_Zia Rashid (Rook)_

_Horus (Rook)_

_Walt Stone (Pawn)_

"I recommend asking my daughter and cousin, Red Dragon Emperor," Athena said from her seat. She had been paying attention to the whole interaction between Issei and the two Archangels. Issei looked at her in confusion.

"They have worked with the two before and helped them beat back the Eclipse Dragon, Apophis," Athena told him.

"Oh, thank you, Athena-sama," Issei said in appreciation. Athena just smiled and returned her attention back to the games.

* * *

**Lucifaad, February 7, 2020, 12:00 PM**

Issei sat across from Percy and Annabeth as they ate their burgers. There was a conveniently placed Burger King in the Underworld. How any of the Four Satans got it down here was a mystery in and of itself.

"Is the Greek Underworld this lively?" Issei asked sipping his drink.

Percy shook his head and Annabeth giggled into her hand.

"No, Lord Hades likes it dreary and depressing. Not to mention that our Underworld is split into four areas," Annabeth said after swallowing the bite she took from her own burger. She flipped her blonde hair and continued to look at Issei. "Why did you want to meet with us?" she asked.

"Athena-sama told me that you could tell me a bit about my next opponent. Set. The Egyptian God of Deserts, Storms, and Chaos," Issei told them. Percy stiffened and Annabeth gained a hard look in her eye.

"Set. He's your next opponent?" Percy asked him. Issei nodded.

"Set is the Lord of Red. While he's not as powerful as someone like Kali, Set is cunning. He will exploit any weaknesses you have. I have no doubt that he is watching videos of your previous battles to find any weaknesses to use," Annabeth said.

"Okay, so we need to cover our weaknesses. What about the others?" Issei said handing her his scroll with Set's team roster brought up. Annabeth looked at the scroll running through the names with her stormy grey eyes analyzing every bit of information.

"Carter and Sadie Kane. They're magicians so hand to hand is something most of your peerage has them beat in. However, Carter is highly skilled with a khopesh. They use an ancient form of Egyptian magic dating back to the age of the pharaohs. Divine Words allow them to rapidly cast spells similar to that of an advanced magic circle," Annabeth told him. She looked over the other names. "Julius Kane will be nothing more than a nuisance for your team. He's a SS Rank High Class at most without Horus aiding him. Carter and Sadie surpassed him a while back and are D Rank Ultimate Class at their full strength due to their training. Remember, these guys used to be the hosts of Egyptian Gods. The Egyptian Gods rarely leave the Du'at except for Ra who used to fight Apophis on a daily basis. I guess the only people you really have to worry about the gods, Horus, Nephthys, and Set. Everyone else will be like ants to you guys," she finished handing him back the tablet.

"Hmmm, do you mind if I scan you guys just in case we get matched up before finals. I'll let you scan me in return," Issei offered. Annabeth looked at him critically. He was asking for their ranking information to analyze a path of attack yet, here he was doing the same. After a few minutes of mental debate, Annabeth made her decision.

"You first," she said grabbing Percy's scroll. It was very clear to Issei who was the brains in the relationship. The scroll's camera emitted a bright blue light that scanned Issei. Annabeth looked at the ranking on the scroll and her jaw hit the floor.

_Issei Hyoudou_

_Race: Unknown_

_H'T: 5'7 (175 cm)_

_W'T: 63 kg_

_Sacred Gear: Boosted Gear_

_Estimated Rank: EX+++ Rank High Class (Base); BBB Rank Deity Class (Full Power)_

Percy looked over her shoulder and gained a similar expression. This guy was crazy strong. Stronger than Kronos. He had found out from Zeus that Kronos was a BB Rank Deity Class making them more than a match for the other chief deities.

"Can I scan you guys?" Issei said grabbing his scroll. Annabeth and Percy mutely nodded. He pressed the first button and scanned Percy.

_Percy Jackson_

_Race: Demigod_

_H'T: 6'0 (182.88 cm)_

_W'T: 192 lbs_

_Sacred Gear: None_

_Estimated Rank: CCC Rank High Class (Base); C Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

Issei scanned Annabeth next.

_Annabeth Chase_

_Race: Demigod_

_H'T: 5'9 (179 cm)_

_W'T: 145 lbs_

_Sacred Gear: None_

_Estimated Rank: C Rank High Class (Base); DDD Rank Ultimate Class (Full Power)_

Issei whistled at their ranks.

"You guys must have trained really hard huh?"

Percy and Annabeth nodded.

"Yup, training and a couple of blessings from a few gods," Percy said offhandedly. Issei raised an eyebrow. Blessings? That must account for the massive boost in power they get from going from their baseline state to their fully unleashed state.

"Thanks for the info," Issei said getting up to leave. Annabeth and Percy nodded. As Issei turned to leave, he heard Annabeth call him.

"I bought an Oppai Dragon cap. W-will you please sign it?" she asked shyly holding out her new red cap. Issei smiled and signed it. Issei bade them goodbye and left Burger King. As he walked, he heard the angry voice of Tiamat in his head.

**|Oppai Dragon? Do you or Ddraig want to explain that little nickname whelp?|** she growled out. Issei turned white. Tiamat never knew.

**[My partner is a pervert with no equal. Back then, he was gaining popularity among the devil whelps and since shouting Oppai was his defining characteristic, he gained the name Oppai Dragon.]** Ddraig said trying to direct his mate's rage at his host.

Issei turned a shade of white that shouldn't be possible for a living person.

**|WHAT!? ISSEI! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BEING A PERVERT!|** Tiamat yelled inside his head. Issei held his hands up mentally in defense.

"_It was before we met! Please don't kill me!_" Issei begged. Tiamat calmed down. If this was before they met, then she was fine.

**|Just don't do that thing ever again.|** she said. Issei nodded frantically.

* * *

**Agreas Stadium, February 8, 2020, 10:00 AM**

"Welcome back to the Round Two Finals! Today I'm joined by the Beauty of Heaven herself, the Archangel Gabriel!" Naud announced on the screen. Next to him, Gabriel, in all her glory, sat smiling softly at the camera. "Lady Gabriel, it is an immense honor to have you here with me," Naud said.

"Do you say that to every woman you invite into this booth or am I the special exception?" Gabriel remarked with a sly smile on her face. Naud sputtered and frantically began to think of a response. Gabriel started to laugh hysterically. "I'm trolling you kid!" Gabriel said to him patting his back. Naud nodded without saying anything else.

"Right, as you all know, last week, Eden Squad's identities were revealed and the king was in actuality the Oppai Dragon himself! That would explain his past victories against the other gods don't you agree, Lady Gabriel," Naud said.

"I wouldn't say that. Issei has many gifted people on his team but to defeat beings with the power of a deity requires cunning, strategy, and imagination. It's the reason Kali went on the immediate offensive during their last match," Gabriel said. "Shall we get this match started?" she asked.

"Of course! Without further ado, let the timer begin!" Naud said.

* * *

Eden Squad was teleported into the arena. Irina took a look around to take in their surroundings. A desert. It seemed to stretch on for miles around. The heat was unbearable to humans but mildly annoying to beings like them. Off in the distance was a town.

"_Alright, the grace period starts now!" Naud announced._

Suddenly, a massive sandstorm surrounded the entire town off in the distance. Ingvild narrowed her eyes. Why did they give away their position so quickly?

"You guys saw that too right?" Issei said as he looked at the sandstorm.

"Yeah, that just screams suspicion," Kiba said as he drew Tyrfing. No one just gives away their position in battle.

"What do we do?" Gasper said. He had been training with his newly evolved Sacred Gear and named it **Aeon Balor**. Aeon Balor had the ability to stop time in a wide area around Gasper rather than it being in his field of sight. It also allowed him access to slow and speed up his own time. He called these new abilities, **Time Alter**.

"I think we should just Leeroy Jenkins this one," Ingvild said. She was confused when everyone turned to her as if she grew a second head. Ingvild looked at them blankly. "We don't always have to use a complex strategy. It's the reason Kali went apeshit on us during our last match. Everyone's now expecting us to use some sort of strategy and are obviously taking measures to counteract them. How about we catch them off guard by just jumping in and swinging at our enemies blindly?" she clarified. They nodded at her mutely. Suddenly, an announcement was made signaling that the time was up. Nodding to each other, Eden Squad charged headlong into battle without a care in the world.

* * *

Set sat in the chair of the saloon within the arena. A western-style arena. He loved those movies often watching them while on Ra's sailboat in the sky with his father and drinking cold ones. Set is a handsome man with a tan complexion, slight stubble on his chin, red hair, and red eyes. He had changed his outfit to that of a cowboy's.

Next to him, a woman with blue hair wearing a white frilly blouse with leather armor wrapping around her blouse. She wore two bangles on her wrists and a headband around her head.

Behind the bar was a man with blonde hair and tan skin with golden eyes. He was wearing a pharaoh's robes.

"Why the hell did you give away our position Set?" the woman said looking at Set with clear irritation in her eyes. Set looked at her and grinned.

"Well, Neph, it's all part of the plan," he said drinking.

"Aunt Nephtys, you know how weird uncle is," the man said. Nephtys turned to her nephew.

"I know he's weird Horus. I married him," Nephtys said.

"Okay okay, I'm luring them here. All we have to do is separate the Dragon Emperor from his friends and all three of us take care of him," Set said finishing his drink. "Ey Barkeep get me another drink!"

Horus sighed and poured another drink for his uncle. Set grabbed it and downed it as quickly as possible.

"Alright, let the games begin, pardner!" Set said with a cowboy accent. Nephtys looked at him blankly.

"Don't do that."

* * *

Issei's eyes glowed the color green and he spread his hands apart. The sandstorm in front of them split down the middle revealing the town. It was your classic western town that one would see in a cowboy movie. There was a saloon, a sheriff's office, and even a road down the middle for a duel at high noon. A tumbleweed rolled past them. Irina looked at the entire town and sensed several people approaching.

"Guys, we have company," Irina drew Hauteclere and lit it on fire. Kiba summoned Tyrfing, Gasper activated Aeon Balor, and Ingvild activated Nereid Kyrie. Issei looked around and Mitsuki and Rossweisse began to prepare several magic circles.

"**A'max!**" a stream of fire came hurtling towards them. Ingvild looked at the fire and raised her hand creating an orange magic circle. A stream of highly pressurized water dispelled the fire blast.

An African American teenage boy and a teenage girl with fair skin with caramel blonde hair walked out of the General Store and stood in front of them. The boy carried a khopesh and the girl carried a staff.

"I take it that you are the Kane Siblings that Annabeth spoke so highly about," Issei said staring at them with his black eyes.

The boy nodded.

"I'm Carter Kane. This is my sister, Sadie Kane," he said gesturing to the girl.

"Will you get in our way of taking on your King?" Issei said. Carter nodded and put his fingers in his lips and whistled. A woman of Arab descent with a bob cut landed next to Carter.

"This is Zia Rashid," Carter said. Zia bowed. A man who looked similar to Carter but with but he was bald and had a small beard appeared next to Sadie.

"This our father, Julius Kane," Sadie introduced him. Next, to him, a man appeared in a sandstorm. He was wearing a suit and a fedora. His hair was braided with gems.

"I know you," Rossweisse said. "You're Amos Kane. One of the most foremost practitioners of Egyptian Style Magic."

Amos smiled at her and bowed.

"It is an honor that the famed Valkyrie who developed Trihexa's seal knows who I am," Amos drew his staff. His eyes shifted to red.

Issei narrowed his eyes. This guy was different from the rest of them. He was powerful. Extremely so. He estimated him to be a CC Rank in Ultimate Class at his full power. One more person appeared jumping from the roof in the same way as Zia. He was a tall man and wore a sleeveless shirt. He wielded multiple charms.

"Finally, this is my boyfriend, Walt Stone," Sadie introduced the man. Issei and the others looked at them warily.

"Issei, Irina, go!" Mitsuki said. "We'll deal with them!"

Issei and Irina nodded and spread their wings taking off. Amos pointed his staff at the two as they flew.

"**Ha-wi.**" A bolt of red energy sprung from his staff only to collide with a blue magic circle. He turned to see Rossweisse with Misteleinn drawn.

"Your opponents are us," she said summoning several runes behind her. Mitsuki summoned several magic circles and Telos Karma. Kiba readied himself while Gasper summoned several shadow blades. The four stood across from each other as a tumbleweed floated past them.

Amos acted first summoning a storm cloud by tapping his staff on the ground. Several bolts of red lightning. Rossweisse pointed Misteleinn at the lightning bolts.

"**Mana Drain!**" the lightning bolts were dispelled and turned into streams of red energy that were absorbed into Rossweisse. Mitsuki appeared in front of Rossweisse with an orange magic circle.

"**Incinerate!**" A stream of red hot fire hurtled towards Amos who prepared to swing his staff. Julius pointed his staff at the flaming stream. A bolt of grey energy impacted the flames destroying them.

The Kane Brothers stood across from Mitsuki and Rossweisse.

Kiba dodged a swipe from Carter's khopesh and dodged a bolt of grey energy from Walt. Walt was knocked back by a fist made of shadows and crashed through a wall. Zia thrust her palm forward and fired a massive comet of fire at Gasper. Gasper's eyes glowed yellow.

"**Time Alter: Double Accel!**" Time slowed and Gasper dodged the comet and fired a shadow bolt from his own shadow. The bolt hit Zia in the leg knocking her off her feet. Gasper then summoned tendrils from his shadow to restraint Walt. He stretched his hand out and began to squeeze. Walt screamed in pain as the tendrils began to crush him.

"**Ha-di!**" a stream of golden energy bolts shattered the shadow bonds. Gasper ducked as another bolt of golden energy. He saw Sadi holding her palm out. Her palm crackled with golden energy.

* * *

Issei and Irina flew to the location of the strongest energy sources. They landed in front of a saloon where there in the front, two men and a woman were waiting for them. The red-haired man stepped forward and swung his scythe sending a massive swathe of fire into the air. Issei and Irina dove to the ground to dodge it.

Issei looked at the red-haired man. He was wearing a cowboy outfit and wielded a massive scythe.

"Howdy Red Dragon Emperor. Name's Set," he said with a cowboy accent. Issei and Irina face faulted.

"Are you doing an accent!?" Issei said pointing at him. Set smirked.

"Yes," he said, causing them to face fault again. He twirled his scythe and swung it. Irina was knocked back by the force of the swing. Issei looked to where Irina was. Issei turned around to see Set slam his scythe into the ground. A massive red barrier formed around them trapping them inside.

"I'll be your opponent," Set said as his scythe morphed into a revolver. Issei looked at him with a confused look. A gun? Set saw his face and slapped his forehead.

"It's nearly high noon. We'll wait till then and have a duel. In the meantime, let's sit and have a couple of snacks and drinks," Set said.

"Is this a game to you!?" Issei said with a massive tick mark on his head.

"Of course, it's called a Rating Game after all," he said.

Irina listened to the entire interaction from behind the barrier. They were fighting this idiot? She saw the blue-haired woman walking towards her and held her hand out. Irina nervously shook the Goddess's hand. From what she could deduce, this woman could only be Nephtys.

"I am Nephthys, Goddess of Mourning, Rivers, the Night, and Air," she said politely.

"I'm Irina Shidou, Cherub of Heaven," she said. Irina turned her head to see the man standing next to her.

"I'm Horus, the God of War and the Sky," Horus said.

"So, are we going to fight?" Irina said. Nephthys shook her head.

"I'm not fighting if you don't want to," she said. Irina sighed in relief. The last goddess she fought crushed her like an ant. However, she wanted to test herself against a deity like her.

"Lady Nephthys, I want to get out of this match without injury and if that means not fighting you, then I'm all for it. However, I want to see how strong I've gotten since the last Rating Game with Kali. Please fight me," she said with resolve burning in her eyes. Nephthys smiled at her.

"Horus," she said. The god nodded and transformed into a falcon and flew off to a roof to sit down and watch.

Irina drew Hauteclere and summoned the Angelic Dragon Booster.

Nephthys channeled her power into her gems making them glow.

Irina wasted no time and leaped towards the goddess bringing down Hauteclere. Nephthys raised her palm summoning a shield of water deflecting the blow. In her other hand, a blue flame appeared. She brought her palm up and fired the flames at Irina. Irina summoned a violet flame in her hand and countered the fire stream with her own.

**[Boost!]**

The flames grew in intensity slightly pushing back Nephthys' flames. Nephthys' eyes narrowed as her eyes turned red. Her red turned into a crimson red and her headband disappeared revealing a red gem in the middle of her forehead.

"**A'max**" the fire stream grew in strength easily overpowering Irina's stream. Irina dispelled her flames and dodged the flames. Nephthys raised her other hand and fired a stream of highly pressurized water. Irina spun around with Hauteclere streaming with fire.

"**Negone Exifience!**" a massive arc of violet flames cut straight through the water blast. Nephthys raised her palm creating a shield of blue flames. Irina hovered above the goddess who was simply smiling at her.

Irina looked at her wearily. The goddess wasn't taking her seriously.

"Are you going to stop holding back?" Nephthys' question brought her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not holding back!" Irina yelled from the sky. Nephthys smiled at her and gestured to the Angelic Dragon Booster.

"I'm guessing it's like the Ruin Princess's Crimson Extinct Dragonar. From what I know of hers, it's a synchronization of the Boosted Gear and her taint. So why not try syncing it with your Grace," Nephthys offered. Irina looked confused.

"I'm already doing that," she said. Nephthys shook her head.

"You're not," she said. "If you were, you would have achieved that Balance Breaker State the Gremory girl possesses whenever the wyverns latch onto her."

"Why are you telling me this?" Irina asked her. It's not that she wasn't grateful. She was being careful. Why would her opponent want her to be stronger than she already was?

"Honestly, one lover to another, I can tell you want to stand by his side as an equal. The personal reason, if we are going to fight, you could at least make an effort to make it entertaining," Nephthys told her. Irina blinked. She just wanted a good fight?

"Is that really why?" she asked hesitantly. Nephthys nodded. Irina sighed. Sync her grace with her gear. Sounds easy enough. Irina closed her eyes and focused. She felt for her grace and found it easily. Finding the energy Ddraig left in her arm was more of a challenge. After a couple of minutes of searching, she found it. It was a red swirling energy. Bringing her Grace over to it, she began to connect them. As soon as she did, she felt an immense rush of power.

Nephthys watched the girl with much interest. She wasn't ignorant. The power she felt coming from the girl far surpassed that of the previous queens she had fought or even some of her teammates. Only the Telos Karma wielder would be able to surpass her once she finished doing what she was doing. Her eyes widened slightly when a blue glow began to surround the girl. She was covered in a white suit similar to the one she wore before. Her once yellow halo turned blue and her ten wings vanished and were replaced with ten blue ethereal wings that fluttered gently behind her back. Nephthys was pushed back a little when the girl opened her formerly violet eyes. They were now a smoldering gold.

Irina felt new. This new form of hers. What should she call it? After a few minutes, she came up with a name.

"**Heavenly Breaker: Code: Seraphina**," she whispered. Her wings glowed and everything around her was sliced into pieces. Nephthys put up a barrier to defend herself while Horus took to the sky to avoid becoming chicken fingers.

"Shall we continue?" Nephthys said as her power began to rise. Her eyes and hair turned red once more. Irina nodded and summoned Hauteclere. The two Queens charged at each other resuming their combat.

Issei watched as Irina achieved her new form. She looked beautiful. Her ten wings were replaced with those amazing blue ethereal wings.

**|Issei. It's noon|** Tiamat said snapping Issei out of his trance. He turned to Set who was getting up off the ground.

**[Be careful partner. Set is not above playing dirty in a fight]** Ddraig said. Issei just smiled.

"_Neither am I,_" he said as he summoned the Boosted Gear.

"Well, then boy. Shall we fight like Kilkenny cats?" Set said tipping his hat and drawing his revolver.

"K-Kilkenny cats?" Issei asked. Set looked at him weirdly. He fired his gun forcing Issei to dodge.

"It means to fight like hell," Set said as he appeared in front of Issei. He threw a punch only for Issei to deflect it and return one of his own. Set skidded back several feet from the force of the blow giving Issei the opportunity to activate one of his forms.

"**Boosted Lunar Cardinal Mode!**" Issei was wrapped in the telltale black and green armor of the Lunar Cardinal Mode. There was practically no difference appearance-wise between it and its base counterpart. However, power-wise, it was on a whole different level.

Issei charged at Set who fired a bolt of grey energy. Issei punched the bolt dispelling it but his gauntlet was shattered in the process. Issei stopped to look at his formerly armored hand.

_The grey bolts can shatter armor?_ Issei ducked as Set fired more grey bolts.

**[Boost! X15]** Issei formed a red sphere and fired it at Set.

**[Dragon Shot]** Set fired his gun at the red energy beam causing it to explode. Set squinted through the dust and Issei burst through it with Ascalon drawn. Issei channeled Miasma into Ascalon and swung it. Set dodged as the ground next to him became a deep trench. The energy wave completely cut through his barrier and traveled for a few hundred meters before dissipating. In the wake of its path, the entire half of the town they were in was split in two.

Issei didn't give Set any time to rest. He raised his hand and formed a black orb in his palm.

"**Exterminate Ray!**" the orb transformed into an energy beam and fired at Set who raised his hands to block it. A mistake on his part because the beam completely pierced through Set's arms and through his shoulder. The god bit back a scream of pain. Not wanting to give Issei the upper hand, Set fired a red bolt of lightning at Issei hitting him. He raised his hand and gripped him in sand tendrils and began to close his fist.

Issei struggled to escape Set's grip as the sand tightened their hold around him. Issei began to think of a way out when he remembered something. Focusing on his Miasma, Issei formed a blade.

Set watched as his sand tendrils were cut into pieces by a blade made of pure darkness.

"Well then, this will be entertaining," Set said as he summoned a massive avatar made of swirling sand and fire. The avatar itself was massive standing at around 15 meters in height. Its head was that of a wolf and had a human torso with massive claws at the end.

"Let's see how you deal with this one," Set said as Issei came flying at him.

* * *

Kiba blocked Carter's khopesh as the other Kane sibling fired a golden bolt of energy at him. He had grown accustomed to their fighting style. The brother was good at close combat with that khopesh of his while the sister provided long-range support. He now knew why Percy and Annabeth praised their skill. Such teamwork was something Kiba had only seen in the Hyoudou Twins. Parrying Carter's khopesh, Kiba poured power into Tyrfing, he slashed the sword with such grace multiple times at the staggered Kane sibling.

"**Sword Dance of Conviction,**" Kiba said as he finished. Spurts of blood erupted from Carter as he fell to one knee. Kiba raised Tyrfing to retire him when a blue barrier surrounded him. He turned to see Sadie with her hand stretched out.

Sadie sighed in relief. If she hadn't cast **N'dah** in time, Carter would have been eliminated. She glared at the Knight of Issei who looked back at her with an unreadable gaze. Kiba appeared in front of her with Tyrfing ready to eliminate her when a similar blue barrier surrounded her as well deflecting the blade. He turned back and saw the elder Kane sibling with his palm outstretched casting the barrier.

They were at an impasse now. Kiba could not eliminate them and they couldn't leave the barrier without Kiba eliminating one of them.

The three stared off at each other. After a few tense minutes, Carter raised his hand at Kiba and uttered one word.

"**Khe-fa**." A golden fist came flying from the barrier and slammed into Kiba launching him into the general store. Carter and Sadie grinned. As long as they maintained the barrier, they could keep hitting the Knight from their positions with their magic and eliminate him.

Kiba slowly sat up and rubbed his side. That fist hit hard. Really hard. He narrowed his eyes. They could still use their magic from inside the barrier. He closed his eyes and activated the Balance Breaker of Blade Blacksmith.

"**Glory Drag Trooper!**" An army of dragon knights appeared in the General Store. They all summoned their own copies of Tyrfing. Kiba nodded at them and they came flying out of the store.

Carter and Sadie readied themselves for when Kiba came out. A figure burst out of the cloud and Sadie fired a destruction spell at it. The golden energy impacted the figure causing it to crash. The minute it crashed, several more flew out of the smoke towards them.

Sadie's eyes grew wide.

_Are those golems?_ She wondered as she fired more bolts of energy. To her left, Carter fired **Khe-fa** after **Khe-fa **at the Dragon Knights. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kiba with Tyrfing.

Kiba poured a massive amount of power into the demonic sword and swung it creating a massive arc of white and pink energy came forth from the sword.

"**Phantom of the Brave!**" Kiba roared as the arc slammed into Carter's barrier. Carter watched as the barrier began to strain under the force of the blow. Miniscule cracks began to spread and grow larger across the entire barrier. Eventually, the barrier gave in and shattered as the energy wave consumed Carter.

"_**Knight of Set has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. Sadie glared even more harshly at the Knight. He had eliminated her brother and she was going to return the favor.

Sadie began to chant several divine words and summoned a massive storm above Kiba. Kiba looked up at the storm and prepared himself. She brought her hand down and a massive beam of multicolored light slammed down on the ground forcing Kiba to dodge.

Sadie cursed the Knight's speed. He was clearly better at using it than her brother. She raised her palm and fired a beam of light at Kiba hitting him in the side.

Kiba felt a force knock him off his feet and onto the ground. He looked up to see the other Kane sibling bring her hand down again. Kiba was forced to dodge as another massive beam of light slammed into the ground leaving a perfect crater. He was getting tired of this. Kiba decided to end it all by attacking her with the ultimate technique of Tyrfing. He commanded his knights to move in on her and the remaining knights charged at Sadie.

Sadie saw the remaining Knights charge at her. She fired off **Ha-di** after **Ha-di **shattering each Knight one by one. Kiba appeared in front of her and she fired a massive bolt of fire pushing him back. Kiba blocked the fireball with his sword and poured power into it.

"**Shock to Kill!**" Kiba swung the sword upwards cutting the fireball in half. The arc traveled towards Sadie's barrier and slammed into it. Sadie smirked. The barrier held and the arc could not break it. Suddenly. Kiba appeared above the barrier and swung Tyrfing at her.

"**Phantom of the Brave!**" the combined forces of the two energy waves shattered the barrier. Before she could be hit, Sadie said one word.

"**Ma'at!**" A wave of golden energy flew from Sadie's body fighting back against the two energy waves. The golden energy overpowered the waves and dispelled them. Sadie panted and searched for Kiba. She had expended a massive amount of energy casting **Ma'at**. She felt something hit the side of her head and her vision began to fade to black. The last thing she saw was Kiba standing over her as he lowered her to the ground.

"_**Bishop of Set has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. Kiba watched her form dissolve into lights and ran off to help Gasper.

* * *

Gasper easily dodged every attack sent at him by Walt and Zia. His ability to slow and speed up time in his immediate vicinity allowed him to dodge most attacks and practically made him untouchable.

He dodged a fireball sent at him by Zia. Walt appeared behind him and tried to cast a death spell on Gasper. A shadow fist sprung from Gasper's shadow uppercutting him sending him sprawling across the road.

"Walt!" Zia said as she increased the intensity of her barrages at Gasper. Gasper raised a dome of shadows and blocked the onslaught of flames.

Every hair on Zia's neck stood up as she rolled out of the way of Kiba's sword. She looked at him shocked. Carter and Sadie were eliminated? That's impossible! Then again, according to Amos, these people were there when the Beast was unleashed onto the world and helped to beat it back. She clenched her jaw. There was no possible way she could win if this man in front of her defeated both Carter and Sadie by himself. She needed to think of a way to defeat them.

Gasper saw Kiba land next to Zia. Behind him, Walt was charging up another spell. Gasper looked at Kiba and a look of understanding passed between them. Kiba formed a floating sword behind him and fired it at Walt. Walt saw the sword headed to him and prepared to cast **N'dah**. Suddenly the sword was grabbed by a shadow tendril and thrown at Zia.

Zia's eyes grew wide as the pommel of the sword smashed into her face. A crunch was heard as Zia's nose was broken. Zia crashed into a wall and crumpled unceremoniously onto the ground. Zia's body began to fade and dissolve into lights.

"_**Rook of Set has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced. Walt just looked on. He had been duped. Bamboozled. He grit his teeth and began to cast spell after spell at Gasper and Kiba. Gasper raised a barrier made of his own shadow. Kiba formed another sword and fired it at Walt. Walt dodged.

"**Promotion: Queen!**" Walt was filled with a rush of power. He disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared above Kiba and Gasper. Kiba fired the sword making Walt dodge. The sword grazed him but it barely left a scratch. Walt's hand glowed grey and he reared his fist back to punch Gasper. Gasper lifted his arm and a fist made of shadows collided with Walt. An explosion occurred blasting the three apart. Kiba and Gasper landed in front of the General Store and Walt landed in front of the Tailors

Walt got up and looked at the two. Kiba and Gasper looked at Walt. Kiba clapped his hands and a swarm of blades floated behind him. Kiba unleashed the hail of blades forcing Walt to dodge. Gasper disappears into a flock of bats and reforms behind Walt. Walt turned around as Gasper's fist nails him in the face. Gasper stretches out his hand and grabs Walt with his shadows and begins to tighten his grip. Kiba appeared in front of a bound Walt and slammed the pommel of Tyrfing into his face knocking him out.

"_**Pawn of Set has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

Kiba and Gasper sighed in relief as Walt dissolved. A massive explosion shook the area. Kiba and Gasper looked over to see a massive twister where Ingvild, Mitsuki, and Rossweisse were fighting Amos and Julius.

* * *

Rossweisse formed a massive magic circle firing a massive torrent of fire at Amos. Amos formed hieroglyph and a blue barrier shielded him from the flames. Mitsuki channeled Taint into her fist and slammed her fist on the barrier shattering it. Julius appeared in front of Mitsuki with his khopesh swinging it at her. Mitsuki dodged it and reappeared next to Rossweisse.

Mitsuki formed a massive ball of lightning and launched them at Julius and Amos.

"**N'dah!**" a massive blue barrier stronger than the previous one blocked the lightning ball causing it to dissipate. Mitsuki narrowed her eyes. Rossweisse looked at the barrier and immediately began to analyze it.

_The barrier can be broken by brute force as shown with Mitsuki. It seems to be powered by that hieroglyph though,_ Rossweisse thought as she channeled power into Misteleinn. The barrier was lowered and Amos raised his hand which began to glow red. Rossweisse's eyes grew wide and raised a massive magic barrier around them.

Amos' eyes glowed an eerie red and summoned a massive twister that came barreling towards Rossweisse and Mitsuki. The twister crashed against the barrier and Rossweisse poured more power into her barrier just so it wouldn't shatter.

"Mitsuki, Ingvild, prepare your most powerful spell!" Rossweisse said. "Once I lower the barrier, fire it!"

Ingvild summoned a red magic circle and began to channel taint into it. Mitsuki created a purple one. In Ingvild's palm, a swirling blood-red sphere appeared while in Mitsuki's palm a black and violet sphere was being held there. They nodded to Rossweisse who immediately lowered the barrier. Mitsuki and Ingvild fired their respective spells.

"**Sanguine Annihilation!**"

"**Moonshadow Beam!**"

A red sphere flew from Ingvild's palms and headed towards the Kane siblings as a black energy beam flew form Mitsuki's palm. Amos and Kane cast another barrier spell.

"**N'dah**" a blue barrier was erected around the two. Rossweise immediately pointed Misteleinn at the barrier.

"**Continuum Seal: Gate!**" the two attacks impacted the barrier but the air in front of it rippled as runes appeared distorting space time. The attacks were then absorbed into the rift and disappeared. Amos and Julius raised their eyebrows in confusion. What was the point of that? Suddenly, a rift opened inside the barrier creating a massive contained explosion.

"_**Bishop and Knight of Set have been eliminated!**__" _Naud announced. Kiba and Gasper landed in front of them.

"You guys done?" he said. They nodded. The sky was suddenly filled with light as they saw Issei and Set trading blows in mid-air. A massive explosion to their right happened as Irina and Nephthys fought with each other for dominance.

**[Boost x50]**

Issei fired another Dragon Shot at Set who countered with his pistol. Set's battle avatar slammed its fist down on Issei, who dodged to the right.

**[Combust]**

A black stream of fire poured forth from Issei's gear and impacted the Avatar's arm incinerating it completely.

Set's eyes widened. That flame was powerful if it could easily eat through his avatar's arm just like that. Set thrust his palm forward and sent a massive gust of hurricane-force wind at Issei.

Issei was blown back by the immense wind and crashed through the roof of one of the buildings.

Set hovered above the building with his avatar. Suddenly, a red beam of intense energy punched through his avatar causing Set to divert his energy to regeneration. Issei appeared in front of him with Ascalon raised and brought it down in a downward slash. A deep gash was left on Set's chest as he grunted in pain. Issei took this chance and thrust his palm forward sending Set and his avatar flying and crashing on the other side of the town.

* * *

Irina blocked Nephthys's attacks as she alternated from close combat to ranged combat. This new form granted Irina a plethora of new abilities. Her favorite was a personal move she called Detonation. Irina's wings began to glow blue as she stretched her palm out towards Nephthys.

"**Detonation!**"

Detonation was not what its name implied. Instead of an explosion, a series of electric blue lights would cut across the air slicing anything unfortunate enough to get close.

Nephthys raised another barrier and blocked the attack. The girl's attacks were powerful. They were already starting to break down her barriers as each consecutive light strikes cracked it. The barrier shattered and Nephthys summoned a massive ray of moonlight straight at Irina.

Irina saw the moonlight coming and called upon her gear.

**[Boost x45]**

"**Flash Cannon!**" Irina fired a massive ray of light that intercepted the beam.

The two beams fought each other with neither Irina nor Nephthys gaining ground. Nephthys began to pour more power into her attack and her beam began to consume Irina's.

Irina felt the pressure of the beam pushing back and tried to push back herself.

_Dammit! I need to boost but I'm almost at my limit!_ Irina thought. _Screw it!_

**[Boost x50]**

Irina felt it. She reached her limit. Irina began to push back on the beam and they became equal again. Dammit! She couldn't boost anymore. What could she do!? Her grace! She still had a lot of it. Back during training, Azrael had taught her how to augment her attacks with Grace. Irina's eyes began to glow violet as she pumped as much Grace as she could on the attack.

Nephthys' eyes narrowed as she felt an immense pressure push back on the attack. She tried to push harder but the attack wouldn't budge. She closed her eyes and smiled.

"This is it huh?" she said as her attack crumbled under Irina's attack. Horus watched as his aunt was consumed by Irina's attack and dissolved into lights.

"_**Queen of Set has been eliminated!**__"_ Naud announced. Irina hovered in the air and turned her gaze to Horus.

"Hey, I don't want to fight. Besides, I'm a God. What wish could I possibly want to be granted that I didn't already have?" he said. Irina nodded and released her** Code: Seraphina** form. She turned her gaze towards Issei and Set.

* * *

Set burst from the rubble. His avatar was fully repaired from the sand and he turned his gaze to Issei. He wouldn't mind if he lost now. The Red Dragon Emperor was the greatest foe he ever fought. He was even better than that kid, Carter Kane. He grinned and fired the largest bolt of red lightning at Issei.

Issei dodged the lightning bolt and fired a **Dragon Shot** at Set. Set's Avatar swung its arm blocking the attack. Issei wanted to finish this and fast. Set had the advantage. His avatar was made of sand and the entire arena was in a desert town in the western US.

"**Summoning: Gore Magala!**" a massive violet magic circle formed on the area floor. Set looked at it with a curious gaze. Summoning magic? \

Suddenly, a massive jet black dragon shot towards Set's avatar out of the magic circle. Set was too surprised to react as the dragon used its jaws and claws to tear the arms off of his avatar. Set fired a red lightning bolt forcing the dragon to retreat back to Issei. The dragon hovered in midair and Issei jumped onto its back.

"Issei-nii-nii! What are your orders?" Magala said.

"I need your help! You have anything that can take on a Deity Class being?" Issei said as he stared down Set and his battle avatar. Magala nodded and her entire body began to glow. Issei covered his eyes as the glow intensified.

Magala's exoskeletal plates vanished and were replaced with shimmering golden scales. Her curved horns, spikes, and talons changed colors from crimson-red to a wood-brown. Her hidden eyes were revealed as her horns lifted off her snout. The eyes opened revealing crimson orbs that radiated pure power. Her wings glowed and took on a golden hue. With her wings expanded, Magala resembled a star.

Issei looked at her new form in awe. The power that radiated from it was immense easily surpassing his current form's power. She opened her mouth and gathered a glittering flame formed inside her mouth.

Issei gathered Miasma into his palm creating a dark iridescent sphere.

"Hey, Set! You've just yee'd your last haw! **Satanic Blast!**" a black beam of highly destructive energy fired from Issei's palms while Magala let loose her flaming breath. The two attacks merged together and consumed Set and his avatar. A massive explosion shook the entire arena as debris and wind blew everywhere.

Issei jumped back and saw Set standing there with some severe injuries on his arm. His battle avatar had lost a majority of its neck and both of its arms. Behind them was a massive depression in the earth that the beam had carved. Suddenly, the avatar failed and dispelled. Set fell to one knee. He was bleeding from his arms and even his chest. Set looked up to Issei and gave him a bloody smile.

"I guess this is your win kid," Set said smiling.

Issei smiled from behind his visor.

"I guess it is," he said. Set gave Issei one last smile before passing out and dissolving into lights.

"_**Set has been eliminated! The winner is Eden Squad!"**_Naud said as the crowd roared in approval.

Issei dropped his transformation and saw his teammates land in front of him and Magala.

"Really Issei? You've just yee'd your last haw?" Rossweisse asked with a deadpan look. Issei rubbed the back of his head and laughed while using his other hand to pet Magala's snout. A red magic circle appeared in the arena revealing Sirzechs.

"Everyone. I give you your first team in the Finals, Eden Squad!" Sirzechs gestured dramatically to Issei and his friends. Cheers were heard all over the stadium and they went something like this.

"Issei-sama, please give me your children!"

"Irina-sama, marry me!"

"Mitsuki-tan! You can punish me anytime!"

"Rossweisse! Be my Valkyrie!"

Kiba-kun! I want your seed!"

"Ingvild-sama! Please look at us! Spit on us!"

"Gasper! Gasper! Gasper! Gasper is our KING!"

The entire team sweatdropped at the remarks. Sirezchs walked up to them and asked them a question.

"Are you ready for the Finals?" Issei looked at his friends and they all nodded with smirks on their faces.

"Hell yeah," Issei said with a grin similar to his friends.

_Watch out, everyone. Especially you Rias. We're winning this!_

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 3476**

**File Name: Set**

**GPS Ranking: CCC Rank Deity Class**

**File: Set is the Egyptian God of Storms, the Desert, Chaos, and Fire. He is the brother of Osiris, Lord of the Egyptian Underworld, and the husband of Nephthys, Goddess of Mourning, Rivers, Night, and Protection. Set is known as the Lord of Red and is the counterpart to his nephew, Horus, the Lord of Black. In addition, Set serves as Ra's lieutenant in his eternal struggle against Apophis.**

**Notes:**

**Thoth: Apophis is dead. Why has no one changed the file?**

**Eric Marshall: Because we're busy. Did you know this guy lost one of his nuts?**

**File End**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 4756**

**File Name: Nephthys**

**GPS Ranking: C Rank Deity Class**

**File: Nephthys is the Egyptian Goddess of Mourning, Night, Rivers, and Protection. She is the sister-wife of Set and the mother of Anubis, the God of Death. She is stated to assist birthing mothers and is at times considered the Egyptian counterpart of Artemis.**

**File End**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 3232**

**File Name: Horus**

**GPS Ranking: CCC Rank Deity Class**

**File: Horus is the Egyptian God of War and the Sky. He is the son of the Egyptian God of the Underworld, Osiris, and Isis, the Egyptian Goddess of Magic. He is known as the Lord of Black and a rival to his uncle, Set. The Egyptian Mythos has stated that each ruling Pharaoh is the current mortal incarnation of the God Horus. One famous example is the Pharaoh Nitocris.**

* * *

**How'd you like the chapter? Yes, I put the Kanes and their friends. Before you say, Kiba can't beat Carter. Carter fought nearly equally to Set. Please remember that Carter was the Eye of Horus at the time. This is him without it okay. Also, Set is a bit of a cowboy fan. You will be seeing more of Irina's new form soon. Please review! I might put up the best reviews from the past chapters up on the next chapter. The longer the better. It allows me to see your thoughts on the story. Any little details you might catch. Any theories you may have so remember, review! Remember, make it a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**


	19. School Festivals and Deals

**Pyre: Sorry about the late update guys. I just started volunteering at Methodist and I have less time to write. That and the fact that I don't want to end this story too quickly. So, I will still update once or twice a week so don't worry. Anyway, I said I would respond to the best reviews from the past couple of chapters! So here goes nothing:**

**Hippie Painter says: Dude what a match I felt like I was a kid watching DBZ on Toonami lol**

**Thanks man! I don't really know whether or not I write adequate fight scenes but from your review, it seems like I'm on the right track!**

**illhamcrazy123 says from Chapter 17: I don't know how you can let another man kiss you yet still say your heart belongs to someone else. That thing inside Akeno better not mess with the match against Eden Squad. I want to see Rias and her peerage broken and bleeding all over the stadium.**

**Well, remember Akeno was following Rias who took Sona's advice of "if you love something let it go if it comes back it was meant to be". As you know they did it in the wrongest way possible so Akeno still does love Issei and as you could probably tell, a ship between the two has sailed and was bombed into oblivion on her maiden voyage. There is one thing I can promise you though. Eden Squad will fight Team Rias Gremory. I can assure you that it will happen.**

**Well, that's it for the reviews response! Remember, review after you read. It lets me know what you think. The longer the better. Anyway, let's get started. I pulled some strings to get this guy.**

**jeb_: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD or any of the songs in this chapter. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi and the songs are owned by their respective artists. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, February 12, 2020, 3:45 PM, Current Time: 4 minutes and 43 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei ran around the room getting everything ready. The Azazel Cup had kept them so busy that they forgot about the school cultural festival. The Kuoh Academy Cultural Festival was in two days and on Lily's birthday. Due to the fact that the Garden of Eden was a music club, everyone expected them to have a song ready to play. Issei also had to plan a birthday party and get gifts. As Issei frantically sat down at his desk and turned on his desktop, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Kuroka standing there in her school uniform. A few days ago, Vali Team had decided to give high school a try and transferred in as third-year students at Kuoh. He still remembered the day clearly.

**Flashback**

_Rossweisse was currently teaching the class a history lesson on the countries up in the Scandinavian region of Europe. The whole class was rather bored even the Perverted Duo, who would usually stare at Rossweisse much to Issei's annoyance. Suddenly, a light knock on the door caught their attention. Rossweisse raised an eyebrow and went to open it._

"_New students?" the class heard her say. Hushed whispers went around the classroom._

"_New students? I hope it's a boy," one girl said._

"_Maybe it's a girl! One that Hyoudou hasn't touched yet," an excited boy whispered gaining the approval of all the males in the classroom. They all turned around when Rossweisse finally spoke._

"_Alright class, we have four new students. You four, please come in," she said._

_Issei, Irina, Kiba, Mitsuki, and Ingvild all shot each other curious looks. Who would transfer in this late in the school year? Their eyes widened comically when they saw who it was. Team Vali! Here! At school!_

"_Please introduce yourselves," Rossweisse said. Vali decided to go first. He smoothed his white hair causing all the girls in the classroom to swoon._

"_I am Vali Lucross," Vali said. Rossweisse' sweatdropped. Vali wasn't one for words. Bikou decided to go next._

"_Yo, my name is Bikou Wang! Nice to meet you all!" Bikou said cheerfully causing almost all the girls in the classroom to blush from his smile._

"_I am Arthur Penderton. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Arthur said bowing slightly._

"_Such a gentleman," one girl said._

"_I'm Kuroka. Kuroka Toujou, nya!" Kuroka said brightly. She scanned the classroom looking for someone. Her eyes lit up when she saw Issei sitting in the back by the window. "Issei-kun! I missed you!" she said, her voice filled with love and adoration. The boys groaned._

"_Damn you Hyoudou!"_

"_Why do all the hot ones have to go for you!?"_

_Issei groaned at the attention he began to receive from the class._

"_QUIET!" Rossweisse yelled. The entire class grew quiet in fear. Even Vali Team backed away from Rossweisse. "Does anyone have any questions? Yes, Yuki."_

"_You said your last name was Toujou? Are you related to Koneko-chan?" she asked. Kuroka nodded._

"_Shirone is my sister nya~" Kuroka said happily. Everyone exchanged glances. Shirone? Koneko's name was Shirone?_

_Rossweisse saw another hand go up and said, "Yes, Motohama."_

"_How does Issei know you Kuroka-chan?" he said._

"_Yeah, I want to know as well," Kiryuu said pushing her glasses up. _

"_Well, I made Issei-kun promise to give me many children!" Kuroka said like there was nothing wrong with it._

"_EHHHHHHHHHHH!?"_

_Issei banged his head on his desk while Irina, Kiba, Mitsuki, and Ingvild stifled their laughter and failing._

**End Flashback**

"What's wrong Issei?" Kuroka asked him as she massaged his shoulders.

"We have the school festival coming up and we need to play a song. The problem is we haven't really rehearsed," Issei admitted sheepishly. Kuroka just smiled at him.

"C' mon I know you can do it. You fought Trihexa, you can surely play one song in front of the entire school," she said. Issei sighed. She was right. It was just a song.

"Thanks, Kuroka," Issei said as he pecked her on the cheek. Kuroka's face turned bright red and she turned away from Issei.

_Mou! Not fair, Issei! I'm supposed to be the one making you turn red,_ Kuroka thought as she held her cheeks.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, 4:40 PM**

* * *

Irina and the others walked into the clubroom. Lily was with them holding Irina's hand. She saw Issei with a bunch of instruments in the room and ran towards him.

Issei felt something hit him in the stomach. He looked down and saw Lily hugging him. Issei smiled and hugged her back. He waved at the others. Rossweisse came up to him and gave him a kiss. Irina followed her and kissed Issei as well.

"What are we doing today?" Kiba asked.

"We're going to rehearse for the festival," Issei replied as he strummed the guitar.

"I call drums!" Mitsuki said.

"I call the keyboard!" Gasper ran over to the keyboard.

"Looks like we have whatever's left then," Kiba said grabbing a guitar. Ingvild picked up another guitar while Irina picked up the last one.

"What song are we playing?" Ingvild asked as she tuned her guitar.

"This one!" Issei said pulling it up on his computer.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, February 14, 2020, 12:30 PM**

* * *

It was the day of the school festival. Everyone attended. The parents, the students from the Elementary to College Division attended the school festival. Each classroom had its own theme that they did. Issei's class of 3-B did a maid cafe. The classroom was decorated like a maid cafe. Tables for the customers, ambient lighting, and even the menu resembled one. Various female students wearing maid uniforms were letting people in catering to them and taking orders. Rossweisse stood outside the classroom in her teaching uniform watching parents walk in and out. She spotted the familiar brown hair of Issei's parents, Gorou and Miki.

"Rossweisse-san! It's so nice to see you," Miki said waving to her. Rossweisse smiled politely.

"It's nice to see you as well," Rossweisse said to Miki. She bowed to Gorou who did the same.

"Have you seen Mitsuki or Issei anywhere?" she asked. Rossweisse nodded.

"They're in their clubroom," Rossweisse said to them. Gorou shook his head.

"That Issei. So lazy. I mean look at his fellow classmates. I bet Mitsuki is getting him," he said. His wife nodded.

"I'm sorry. Issei must be a lot of trouble in class," Miki said apologizing for her son's supposed behavior.

Rossweisse narrowed her eyes. She had known from Mitsuki that their parents favored her over Issei. As she began to speak, she was interrupted.

"I assure you. Issei is an angel," Azrael came up from behind. The Hyoudou parents jumped at the voice. They turned around and saw Azrael standing behind them with Issei and Mitsuki.

"Ashley. It's been a while," Miki said weakly. Azrael nodded and walked past them. Issei and Mitsuki followed her carrying their instruments.

"I'm sorry but I have to go help them set up for their performance," Rossweisse said as she bowed and walked off after them.

Issei walked silently gripping his guitar tightly. Mitsuki put a hand on her twin's shoulder.

"I'll always stand by you Aniki," Mitsuki said with a bright smile. Issei nodded and returned the smile. The two twins walked behind Rossweisse and Azrael in comfortable silence. They arrived at the school's gymnasium and saw the others setting up their instruments. It took hours of rehearsal to get it right. People yelled and blamed each other but in the end, it was all good fun as they played the song correctly.

Issei hopped up onto the stage and looked at everyone. He turned to his twin who gave him a grin.

"Are you guys ready for this?" Issei asked. They all nodded nervously. None of them had ever played in front of so many people before.

"Issei," he turned to see his girlfriend Rossweisse giving him a reassuring smile. "I'll start announcing that the concert will start soon," she said walking out.

"*exhales* Alright Issei. It's just a song," he said breathing to calm himself down.

* * *

"Kuroka, slow down!" Vali said as he and the others ran to catch up to her. On her back was Lily, who was screaming in joy as Kuroka expertly weaved through the crowd. Magala flew behind her trying to stay with her but the cat proved to be quick.

"Vali, we're gonna be late to Eden Squad's concert! What do you think will happen when Mitsu-chan finds out you were late?" she yelled at him.

Finally, they arrived at the gymnasium. There weren't very many people there. Just some students who were taking breaks from their classrooms' showcases. Kuroka spotted her sister and the other ORC girls with their boyfriends staring at the stage waiting for the concert to start.

"What do you think they're gonna sing?" Bikou asked. Le Fay shrugged as she stroked a small Fenrir's fur. Kuroka put Lily down. Magala landed on top of Lily's head. Lily looked up at Magala and giggled as she grabbed her.

Issei's voice brought their attention up to the stage.

"Okay, everyone. We are the Garden of Eden and thank you for coming to our concert," Issei said. He sounded nervous.

"C' mon pervert play a song! If you can even do that! We all know your sister's gonna carry the entire band because your only talent is looking at women's tits," a college student said. Everyone laughed at her joke.

Kuroka started to fume. How dare they!

"Shut up you stupid whore!" Mitsuki yelled. They all quieted down. Mitsuki had never cursed before. She was one of the most polite students in the school. "Don't think we don't know what you do in your free time!"

The girl grew quiet as everyone looked at her.

"R-right. We're going to be performing for you all today so I hope you all enjoy it," Issei said gaining more confidence as he spoke.

_Girls singing_

**Boys singing**

Issei started to play his guitar.

_"Oh don't you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me" _(Irina)

**I said, "You're holding back" **(Issei)

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!" _(Irina)

**This woman is my destiny**

_She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me" _(Irina)

Issei and Irina danced on the stage while the others played and sang along with them.

**We were victims of the night**

**The chemical, physical, kryptonite**

**Helpless to the bass and the fading light**

**Oh, we were bound to get together**

**Bound to get together**

Issei sang and winked at Kuroka and Rossweisse making them go cherry red.

**She took my arm**

**I don't know how it happened**

**We took the floor and she said**

_"Oh, don't you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me"_

**I said, "You're holding back"**

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_

**This woman is my destiny**

_She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me"_

**A backless dress and some beat up sneaks**

**My discothèque, Juliet teenage dream**

**I felt it in my chest as she looked at me**

**I knew we were bound to be together**

**Bound to be together**

**She took my arm**

**I don't know how it happened**

**We took the floor and she said**

_"Oh, don't you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me"_

**I said, "You're holding back"**

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_

Issei looked up and saw that Kuroka had climbed on stage and was given a microphone by Irina.

**This woman is my destiny**

_She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me"_

**Oh, come on girl**

**Deep in her eyes**

**I think I see the future**

**I realize this is my last chance**

**She took my arm**

**I don't know how it happened**

**We took the floor and she said**

_"Oh, don't you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me"_

**I said, "You're holding back"**

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_

**This woman is my destiny**

_She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance!"_

_"Don't you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me"_

**I said, "You're holding back"**

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_

**This woman is my destiny**

_She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo_

_Shut up and dance with me"_

_**Ooh-ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me**_

_**Ooh-ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me**_

The crowd cheered at the song and began to chant.

"Encore! Encore! Encore!"

Vali and the others stood in the back. They were cheering for them as well. Lily was on Vali's shoulders cheering for her brother. Issei and the others performed four more times before finally bidding the massive crowd that had gathered a good day. As Vali made his way to go congratulate Issei, Bikou's voice caught his attention.

"Where's Lily?" he asked. Vali froze. He had let Lily off his shoulders because she wanted to go to the bathroom. That was ten minutes ago.

"Let's go find her," Vali told Bikou. Bikou nodded in response and Vali turned to Arthur and Le Fay.

"Go to them. We'll meet you there," Vali said as he ran. Vali and Bikou pushed their way through the crowds of students and parents making their way around the school. After several minutes of searching, Vali and Bikou stopped.

"How the hell does one girl just disappear!?" Bikou said. Vali sighed and looked around. He spotted Lily talking to someone. Vali ran over to her.

"Lily! Where were you?" he said as he kneeled down in front of her. Lily looked ashamed.

"I was in the bathroom and when I was walking back I saw the lady from a picture in big brother's room," she said looking down. Vali quirked his eyebrow. Lady? He looked up and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever met. Her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes were the deepest and most pure shade of blue. Her hair was long and flowing with her bangs styled in an upwards ponytail. She had a figure that would make even the Love Goddesses and Fallen in the Grigori jealous. The woman looked at him curiously before smiling warmly at him.

"Oh, hello, I didn't mean to keep her," the woman said embarrassed. Vali nodded mutely.

"Hey, Vali you find her… well, hello there," Bikou greeted the woman in a suave tone. The woman looked at him with a smile.

"I'm sorry. You're not my type," she said giggling. Bikou's mood fell and he sat on the ground depressed.

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Vali asked her. This woman was unnatural. To others like Bikou, she may seem human but ever since Azazel had shown him that energy that ran through Issei, he could feel it. He would never forget that feeling. That cold, dark feeling and this woman reeked of it. She froze and turned to him with a curious gaze.

"Lily. My name is Lily," she said. A beeping sound came from the watch she was wearing. "Ara, it seems that I have to go. Bye Lily-chan!" Lily said waving to her and walking away.

Lily waved goodbye to the older Lily. When she left, Vali let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"_Albion. That woman. Is she…"_, Vali asked the dragon his voice filled with fear.

**{Yeah. There's no mistaking it. She's one of them.}** Albion told him. Vali picked up Lily and grabbed Bikou by the back of his collar and began to walk back to the gym. When he entered, he saw Issei waiting for him.

"Hey, where'd you guys go to?" he said as he packed up his guitar.

"Lily had to go to the bathroom," Vali said. Lily hopped down from his arms and began to tell Issei what happened.

"Big Brother! I met Lily today!" she chirped happily. Issei's eyes widened. Lily was here.

"Really?" he said bending down and ruffling her hair. She nodded happily.

"She watched your concert!" Lily said as she leaned into her brother's hand. Issei smiled. Inwardly, he was thinking.

_Onee-chan was here? Why didn't she come to see me afterward then?_ Issei thought. Issei hadn't seen Lily in fourteen years. Issei had missed her terribly ever since she just left.

Vali decided to keep quiet when he saw Issei's face. It was obvious that Issei was attached to this woman whoever she was. Issei and Vali turned their heads to the sound of two people approaching. It was Azrael and Thor?

"Hey kid, nice performance out there," Thor said. Issei smiled sheepishly.

"Well, it was a combined effort," he said scratching his cheek. "So Thor-sama, why are you here?"

"Didn't you hear? I'm the new gym teacher!" Thor said patting Issei on the shoulder.

Issei smiled politely though on the inside, he didn't know whether to be happy or panicking.

"Issei. My work with my siblings will be taking up much of my time thus Thor here will be the one to oversee your club in my absence," Azrael said to him. Issei nodded. "Also, give this to Lily for me and tell her I said, 'Happy Birthday'," Azrael gave Issei a wrapped box. He shook it a little and heard something. On top of that, the box was small. It was shaped like and had the size of a box that jewelry is held in when purchased.

"See you at the house, Ise. I still have to finish giving Thor a tour of the school," Azrael said as she walked out of the gym. Thor looked at him and nodded and followed her out.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 4:30 PM**

* * *

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Lily! Happy Birthday to you!" everyone sang as Lily smiled shyly. Issei stood next to her and lit all seven candles on her cake.

"Time to blow out the candles, Lils," Issei said. Lily nodded and inhaled deeply. She blew out the candle and froze the entire table in the process. Lily blinked and smiled embarrassedly that she just froze the entire table. Issei laughed a little and Lily glared at him. Her glare, however, wasn't very effective as Issei started to laugh even harder. He put a hand on the ice and vaporized it with his flames.

Lily's birthday party was a simple affair. Since she didn't have many friends at school, Issei invited all of her new supernatural family members. Needless to say, the little girl was overjoyed to see them and was the first person to greet them at the door.

"Alright, everyone, before we cut the cake, let's open the presents!" Mitsuki clapped her hands and Irina and Rossweisse pulled out a small cart full of presents. Lily immediately ran over and ripped open the first box. It was an Issei plushie. Her eyes gained stars and she hugged the life out of the poor doll. Lily lifted the tag and read it.

"From Millicas. Happy birthday Li!" Lily read. She looked over to Sirzechs, Grayfia, and Millicas and gave him the brightest smile.

"Thank you Millicas!" she said as she walked over and hugged him. Millicas' face turned as red as his hair. Azazel and Gabriel were snickering behind them saying something that sounded like "like mother, like son." Grayfia apparently heard them because she immediately turned and gave them her coldest glare. The two Archangels shrunk back at the intensity of her look.

Lily opened a few more presents. She got new clothes from Gasper, a practice sword from Kiba, a book of beginner spells from Rossweisse, and a dragon egg from Mitsuki. Ingvild had gotten Lily an enchanted sky blue jacket with dimensional storage in the pockets. She also got more spellbooks from Sirzechs and Grayfia, a miniature Gabriel horn from the Archangels that summons an eagle chick that grows with her. Thor gave her a Garmr pup that Hel had sent him. Penemue and Ambriel had gotten her a Nintendo Switch and a set of My Little Pony Figures. Risa gave her a set of blank talismans and a beginner's guide to the onmyouji arts. Azazel gave her an artificial Sacred Gear he called Scorching Jet Black Halo.

_Seriously? Who gives a child a real weapon?_ Everyone thought as Lily was awestruck by the Gear.

Irina was one of the last to go up. She pulled out two black scrunchies and gave them to her. Lily looked at them curiously.

"I noticed you like to wear your hair like mine so I got you these. I had them magically enchanted by Azazel-sama with Enochian Runes so that they can heal you if you receive any cuts or scrapes. There's also a CC built into it so you can call us whenever you want. I'll teach you how to use it later," Irina said smiling at the girl. Lily looked down at the scrunchies and ran up to Irina and hugged her tightly. Irina was a little surprised and eventually hugged her back.

Azrael went next. She grabbed the present that she had given to Issei to put in the pile. Lily tore it open and saw a small bangle.

"That bangle is made to hide your Miasma signature. It doesn't suppress your power but it will hide you from demons," she said. "Also, there's a small knife inside the bangle that you can summon. What the knife does will be a surprise." Lily nodded fervently and showed Issei her new bangle. He smiled. Now it was his turn. Issei pulled out a small bag from his pocket. He opened it and asked Lily to hold her hand out. Curious as to why the girl did and Issei placed something in her hand and closed her fist. She opened her fist to see what her brother had given her. It was a silver locket. The locket was simple in design with Ddraig and Tiamat in dragon form with ruby and sapphire for Ddraig and Tiamat respectively embedded in the chest carved into the locket. When she opened it, Lily gasped. Inside the locket was a picture of her and Eden Squad during her first day at Kuoh.

"You like it?" Issei asked nervously. His gift wasn't lavish or extravagant like the others but he put a lot of work into it. He felt something impact his stomach and a wet feeling on his shirt. He looked down and saw Lily hugging him and crying lightly. Issei frowned and hugged her. He pulled away and wiped her tears. "What's wrong? Is the gift bad?" he asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, I like it! Thank you, big brother!" Lily said to him clutching the locket tightly to her chest. Issei smiled and patted her head. He got up and looked at everyone. They were all smiling at the heartwarming scene before them.

"So who wants cake?" Issei said.

* * *

**Azrael's Apartment, February 15, 2020, 8:45 AM**

* * *

"Az-nee, why do we have to do this one so early?" Issei asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Next, to him, the other members were yawning and Rossweisse was sipping a cup of coffee.

"I told you. We think there are signs of demonic activity in a small town in Germany. I'll give you directions to the town and shazam you to Berlin," Azrael said as she briefed them.

"Why not directly to town?" Ingvild asked her.

"I figured Issei could practice driving in a place that's not Japan or America," Azrael said.

"Can we at least get our things?" Mitsuki asked her. Azrael snapped her fingers and a backpack for each of them appeared in the room.

"There. Any other questions? None. Good. I'll look after Lily in the meantime," she said. Azrael snapped her fingers and Eden Squad found themselves on the streets of Berlin with the Impala parked on the side. Issei noticed a small bag with a GPS, a map, several badges, and federal suits. Issei picked up one of the badges and opened it. It had Kiba's face on the ID.

"Hey, Kiba! Catch!" Issei tossed the badge to Kiba who caught it and looked at it.

"Bundesnachrichtendienst? Why would we need badges for what I assume is the BND? The German equivalent of the FBI?" Kiba asked. Issei shrugged.

"Maybe we need them to get into somewhere?" Rossweisse said.

"Where is the town?" Ingvild asked Issei as he looked at the map.

"It's in a town called Alpirsbach and located here," Issei said pointing on the map. Irina looked over his shoulder and typed the town name on Google Maps.

She whistled at the travel time. "We better get going. It's about an eight-hour drive from Berlin," Irina said as she got in the front seat.

"Are you sure we can all fit in here Aniki?" Mitsuki asked. Issei nodded.

"I had it outfitted with space-time runes to expand the back to fit 8 people," Issei said as he got in the driver's seat. He lowered the sun visor and saw a German Driver's License fell out with a note.

"Just in case Az-tan forgets. Or if you get pulled over. From Azazel and Gabriel," Issei read. He put the keys in and turned on the car. Issei turned around and looked at the passenger seat.

"You guys ready?" he asked. The five in the back nodded. Issei turned on his signal and drove out of Berlin and into the autobahn.

They drove for about 8 hours playing road trip games such as I Spy and sang along to songs that Issei played in the car.

"As sun seeks day!" Irina sang.

"We'll find our way!" Issei continued.

"And we'll catch that dream together someday soon!" everyone chorused.

"We're rising like the moon!" they all finished together.

The eight hours passed like eight minutes the little team arrived in Alprisbach. Issei parked on the street. Everyone got out of the car and began to stretch their legs after eight hours of constant travel.

Issei froze. Miasma signatures. Extremely powerful Miasma signatures.

"Guys," Issei said. Everyone turned to look at him. "There are demons here. Very powerful demons. Stronger than the ones we fought in Tokyo."

Everyone stiffened at his words. Demons that were more powerful than the ones they already fought. This was bad.

"What do we do?" Irina asked.

"Nothing. Not yet. We can't do anything unless we can prove it's them. They could be living in this town as citizens and if we attack, we could get arrested," Issei said. "Let's go ask around. Remember, we're looking for someone named Dmitri Vanderhoff." They all nodded. The team searched around town and asked various people who lived there about him. They thanked whatever higher power that they could understand every human language.

Apparently, Dmitri was a man who had moved into town fifteen years ago. He was a nobody that worked in business. However, one day ten years ago, Dmitri's small business had suddenly started to boom. People from all over Europe came to their town to invest in Dmitri's business. Money flowed into Alpirsbach like heroin into an addict's vein. However, a few days ago, Dmitri had been brutally killed. His entire body had claw and bite marks all over it. He looked like he had been mauled by a wild animal.

Eden Squad made their way over to the coroner's office. They had changed into their agent disguises. The team walked inside and Ingvild walked up to the front desk and slammed on the bell.

"Yes," the woman spoke in German. Ingvild flashed her badge.

"My associates and I here to see the body of Dmitri Vanderhoff," Ingvild replied. The woman nodded and pressed a button unlocking the door. Ingvild motioned to them to follow.

"How'd you do that?" Issei said. "The agent schtick."

"I watch a lot of CSI and NCIS in my spare time," Ingvild replied. The woman led them to the morgue. She pulled out one of the trays that was labeled Dmitri.

"Good day agents," the woman left the room.

After being one hundred percent sure that the woman left, Issei levitated the body of Dmitri onto the examining table and removed the cover. The site nearly made him puke. Dmitri's body was covered in lacerations and claw marks. His arm was missing and part of his torso was eaten out with his ribs missing and several of his internal organs had bite marks. Issei's eyes turned black and put his hand over the corpse. The body contained traces of Miasma. More specifically, the bite and claw marks all had a faint Miasma signature on them.

"I think we can rule out an animal attack," Issei said as he lifted his hand from the corpse. Everyone quirked their eyebrow.

"How senpai," Gasper asked.

"Miasma. The bite and claw marks all have a faint trace of it," he said. "It seems that this does have something to do with the demons I sensed in town earlier." They all nodded and put the man back on the tray and left the coroner's office.

"So where do they live?" Kiba asked.

"A few kilometers west of the coroner's office," Issei said as they made their way back to the car.

"Did we bring the Colt just in case?" Ingvild asked him. Issei nodded and lifted the bottom of his shirt showing them.

They all got in the car and drove off in the direction of the location of the signature.

* * *

**Alpirsbach, 11:35 PM**

* * *

Issei and the others parked outside a small house in a suburban part of town. Issei found it ironic that the house was near a church of all places.

_Demons going to church. Now that would be a sight to see_, he thought.

"Should we go in?" Irina asked.

"Let's wait for a litt-" Issei's eyes grew wide when he and the others were now sitting inside a living room. Issei walked over to the window and saw his car parked across the street.

"We got bored of waiting for you to come in," a voice made them all turn their heads and draw their weapon. In front of them was a woman with hair as black as night. Her eyes were the most toxic shade of yellow they had ever seen. She wore a white dress with a spider web necklace covering her chest and shoulder.

"Who are you?" Irina asked as she tightened her grip on Hauteclere. A middle-aged man with grey hair wearing a black trenchcoat with the same yellow eyes walked in followed by a woman with dark skin and violet hair wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a red overcoat with white pants followed him in.

"You won't be needing those," the man said raising his hand and all of their weapons flew over to his side.

"Please sit," the violet haired woman said. She waved her hand and they were all forced into chairs pinned by immense telekinetic pressure.

The three sat in chairs across from them and began to introduce themselves.

"I am Dagon, Princess of Hell and Lady of Envy," the black-haired woman introduced herself politely.

"I am Ramiel, Prince of Hell and Lord of Pride," the grey-haired man said.

"I am Mammon, Princess of Hell and Lady of Greed," the violet-haired woman said

"You're demons," Issei said warily. Ddraig and Tiamat were quiet. These three possessed power that surpassed the Heavenly Dragons and even some of the Elder Gods.

"Yes, astute observation young cambion," Mammon said as she sipped her tea.

"I assume you're all here for the man who made that deal with the demon who frequents this town," Ramiel said as he relieved the pressure Mammon used to pin them to their chairs. The group nodded.

"Come now. We don't bite. Cookie?" Dagon offered each one of them a cookie. They politely refused. Dagon sighed. "You don't really have a good track record with our kind, do you? Understandable considering what our psychotic brother is doing," she said taking a cookie.

"Well, yeah. I mean I just learned I'm being hunted alongside my adopted sister and friend," Issei said sarcastically.

"Not our fault. Beelzebub was always the most psychotic of us. We're retired, to say the least. You see three million years of war can do that to you," Ramiel mused.

"War?" Irina asked.

"Ah, I see that the current generation hasn't been informed about this. Do you know how the dinosaurs went extinct?" Ramiel asked them.

"Yeah, an asteroid hit the Earth," Mitsuki answered. Mammon shook her head.

"That's not how. You see 65 million years ago, there was a war. A terrible war that shook the very foundation of Creation itself. The war was between the forces of Heaven and Creation and the Forces of Hell. You can guess which side we were on," Mammon explained.

"So this war. What does it have to do with you being retired?" Rossweisse asked them carefully.

"The war took its toll on us. A universe being destroyed was the last straw for the Man Upstairs so he sent the Archangels to stop it. They did so in half an hour. The aftermath was deep. Many universes were left on the brink of collapse," Dagon said sadly.

"Wait, the Archangels!? They stopped a war that spanned all of Creation in thirty minutes!" Issei said shocked. The others were as well. If they had such power, why didn't they kill Trihexa when he was released?

"Ah yes. You see back then, the Archangels held power that held no equal. The Infinity Lizard and the Dream Gecko, if you were to compare them back then. Hell, even the Cosmic Deities. It would be like comparing a drop of water and a bucket of water to an entire ocean," Dagon said as she offered them some more cookies. Gasper grabbed a few and began to eat.

"What happened anyway? Why are they like this now?" Irina asked her.

"Apparently, Heaven and Creation were damaged greatly during the war so six of the seven expended a massive amount of their power to repair it. Unfortunately, it came at a cost. They lost four pairs of wings in the process. Heaven wasn't the same either. Back then, Angels could reproduce without their wings turning black but now…" Dagon trailed off.

"Anyway, we're getting off track. You're here for the Crossroads Demon," Mammon said.

"Crossroads Demon?" Gasper asked.

"They're commonly known by as Faustian Demons. The name is derived from the Faustian Bargain in which you sell your soul for power, fame, riches, etc.," Ramiel said. "You get ten years to enjoy whatever you wished for before they send hellhounds to kill you and drag your soul to Hell," he continued.

"Hellhounds? Like the ones from Greek Myth or the dogs born in the Underworld," Mitsuki asked them.

"No. Hellhounds are a species of demon that takes the form of a dog-like creature. To humans, they're invisible but you can see them," Ramiel said.

"Where can we find this Crossroads Demon," Issei asked. Dagon looked at him like he was an idiot.

"At a crossroads. Duh. There's one located outside town. Rumor has it that, Anastasia Schneider will go there tonight in five minutes," Mammon said looking at the clock.

"What the hell! We'll never get there in time!" Mitsuki said.

"I'll take you there. Just have Issei here flare his Miasma when you're ready to come back," Dagon told them as she got up.

"Wait, why are you helping us?" Kiba asked wanting to know the reason three very powerful demons were going out of their way to help a bunch of kids.

"Because that demon is causing trouble and I want to spend my retirement days in peace. This is my town and I don't need any demon bringing in people like you to start a ruckus," Dagon told them in a heated tone. The pressure intensified as Eden Squad struggled to stay standing. "Shall we get moving?" Dagon smiled causing the pressure to disappear. The group nodded wearily and Dagon teleported them all to the crossroads.

Anastasia was a pretty girl. She had just moved out of her parents' house in Munich and moved here with her fiancee. Unfortunately, he was killed in a traffic accident. She grieved for weeks. People tried to help her but to no avail. Anastasia had fallen into a deep depression and turned to alcohol for comfort. One night, while at the bar, she overheard something interesting. The intersection outside Alpirsbach. Apparently, if you bury a photo of yourself inside a box with the bone of a black cat and the milk of a black cow, a thing would show up and grant you one wish. Apparently, it was how Dmitri Vanderhoff got so successful in the first place.

She toyed with the notion for a few days before finally deciding to just do it. Now here she was, burying a picture of herself along with a black cat bone and milk from a black cow in a dirt intersection. Anastasia felt a chill run down her spine. She turned around and saw a beautiful woman with blonde hair and red eyes looking at her. Anastasia walked over to her.

"Can you bring my fiancee back?" she asked her tone full of desperation. The woman simply smiled.

"Of course dear," she said. Anastasia began to cry tears of joy at her answer. "However." Anastasia stopped to look at her.

"However, what?" she asked.

"I will do it in exchange for your soul," the woman said her smile never wavering. Anastasia looked down.

_My soul? For Gerald?_ She thought.

"Don't worry. I'll cut you a deal. I'll let you have twenty years with him instead of ten and that's a great price," the woman said. Anastasia looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

_Twenty years is enough to raise a child and have a family_, she thought. Anastasia nodded.

"Splendid. Now," the woman said summoning a small piece of paper in her hand. "Sign this in your blood." The woman suddenly jumped into the air when a light blast flew past them and exploded in the field several meters away.

"Stop right there," Issei said. "You lady! Think about what you're doing. If you do this, you'll never see your fiancee again in the afterlife! You'll go to Hell!"

The woman froze at his words. Hell?

"So, the First. I thought Lord Beelzebub already had you," the woman said hovering in midair with her wings unfurled. "And of course, you're ragtag little team," she looked over at the rest of Eden Squad. They all glared at her.

"Sorry lady. Looks like the deal is off," the demon said. "I smell a promotion in front of me," her grin twisted into an insane smile. The demon formed a ball of darkness and fired it at Eden Squad. The group scattered immediately. Issei grit his teeth. They couldn't fight at full power or else the woman would get killed along with everyone else in town. The demon in front of them was at least a DD-Ultimate Class in strength meaning she was weaker than the other demons they had met. He got an idea. He formed a multi-channel CC.

"Guys, get her to stay still for me," Issei said over the channel.

"Okay. But why?" Mitsuki asked as she dodged a tendril.

"I'm going to use my powers to capture her."

"Why not the kill her?" Gasper asked as he slowed time allowing him to dodge her attacks.

"No, she might know where Beelzebub and his demons are planning. It'll allow us to get the upper hand on them," Issei said.

"Got it," they all replied. The group swarmed the demon forcing her to dodge every attack.

"Tch!" the demon launched an omnidirectional telekinetic wave blowing them off their feet. She walked over to Issei who was blown off.

"Well," she said planting her foot on his chest. "Looks like I caught me a prize," she smirked arrogantly down at him.

"Unfortunately for you. You won't have him," a voice called out. The demon turned around to see who dared oppose her when her eyes grew wide.

Dagon.

"L-Lady Dagon," she said as she backed away in fear.

"Beelzebub was always a cheeky little shit. Ever since she created us, he strung all of demonkind along thinking she had some sort of master plan. So no, I won't let you bring him the First just so he can satisfy his need to please mother," Dagon said snapping her fingers. The demon exploded into black dust. Issei looked up at her incredulously.

"You were taking too long," she said. Dagon walked over to the frightened and shaking woman who had hidden behind her car.

"Ana, you won't remember a single thing," Dagon's eyes began to glow and Anastasia fell asleep. Dagon teleported her to her apartment.

"Your first mistake was not using the Colt. You could have ended this fight a lot faster if you did. Instead, you danced around the idea of killing her and allowed a demon that was D-Rank in Ultimate Class strength to knock you on your ass," Dagon told him. Issei looked away from her.

"We thought she might know what Beelzebub is planning," Issei argued back feebly.

She sighed.

"And then what? You go and fight him. He'll slaughter you and your friends! He might not be as powerful as I am but he's leagues above you in strength. Think before you act!" Dagon argued back crushing Issei's argument. Issei kept looking at the ground in frustration.

Dagon looked down at him. A tense silence came between the two as Eden Squad watched Issei argue with a demon that could rip them apart atom by atom with a snap of her fingers.

"You remind me of her you know," she finally said after a few minutes. Issei looked up at her.

"Everyone says that," he said. Dagon just smiled warmly at him.

"You have her heart but not her level of power," Dagon said. "Come on. I'll teleport you back to Kuoh."

"How did you know that we were from Kuoh?" Rossweisse said.

"I may be old but I'm not senile. That boy is the Red Dragon Emperor. Everyone knows what town he lives in," Dagon said. Issei got up and looked at her.

"Can we beat him?" he asked. Dagon looked at him for a minute analyzing him. She nodded.

"Of course. Beelzebub may fancy himself as invincible but remember. Invincible is just a word," Dagon said as she snapped her fingers. The group found themselves on the street outside Dagon's house next to the Impala.

"Before you go, tell Auntie that she should visit," Dagon told them.

"Auntie?" Irina asked her.

"Azrael," was all Dagon said before she teleported them back to Kuoh. Issei and the others blinked momentarily when they found themselves on the outskirts of Kuoh.

"Well, let's head home," he said as he got in the driver's seat.

"Ooh, Aniki! Can I drive?" Mitsuki said begging Issei with her puppy dog eyes. Issei looked at her and willed himself not to cave. He had let Mitsuki drive the Impala a couple of times but after she almost crashed. Never again.

"No," Issei said from the driver's seat. Mitsuki glared and pouted at her twin. The group drove into Kuoh and headed for Azrael's apartment. Upon arriving, Issei and the others took the elevator to the seventh floor and knocked on her door.

"Ah, you're all back," Risa answered the door.

"Yup. Is Az-nee in?" Issei asked looking over her shoulder. Risa nodded and let them in. The group saw Azrael sitting on her couch and talking to Raphael. The two Archangels turned around and saw them.

"Issei. You're back. What happened?" Azrael asked wanting to know how their mission went.

Issei went on to explain what happened during the mission. The man named Dmitri who made a deal with a demon. How they met three of the Princes of Hell. Their fight with the demon and how one of the Princes, Dagon, killed the demon. Azrael and Raphael looked at each other.

"That sounds like something Dagon would do," Raphael said with his hand on his chin. "What else did she say?"

"Not much other than telling me that I'm like her. The Firstborn," Issei told them. The two nodded and did not ask any further questions.

"Ah, Issei before you get Lily and leave. Sirzechs told me to tell you that the Finals will not be an individual match per team," Azrael said to them. The members of Eden Squad looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Um, Raphael-sama. Azrael-sama. What is the format of the matches?" Irina asked the question they were all thinking. Raphael looked at her and smiled.

"It's a battle royale."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 4398**

**Creature Name: Faustian Demon**

**File: Faustian Demons, or more commonly referred to as Crossroads Demons, are demons that are summoned to grant wishes at the cost of the summoner's soul. Faustian Demons can be summoned at a crossroads by burying a picture of yourself, the bone of a black cat, and milk from a black cow inside an iron box.**

**GPS Ranking: Varies**

**Weaknesses: Enochian Weapons, other beings of higher or similar power**

**Prey: N/A**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: WHAT!?**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Nope. We're not doing that here. You wanna get sued?**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 656**

**File Name: Dagon**

**GPS Ranking: EX- x2 Rank Deity Class**

**File: Dagon is a Princess of Hell and the Sin of Envy. She is the oldest female Princess and the fourth Prince of Hell. Dagon is hailed as the third strongest Prince and is slightly stronger than Belphegor. Currently, Dagon is living is a state of retirement away from Hell and runs a therapy clinic known as Raven Gates Therapy in Alpirsbach, Germany.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: DO NOT ENGAGE!**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 655**

**File Name: Ramiel**

**GPS Ranking: EX- Rank Deity Class**

**File: Ramiel is a Prince of Hell and represents the Sin of Pride. He appears mostly as a middle-aged man in a black trenchcoat with a business suit. Ramiel's place of residence is unknown but like the other Princes except for Beelzebub, Ramiel is living in a state of retirement and runs a small law firm.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Please for the love of the dead God! DO NOT ENGAGE!**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 658**

**File Name: Mammon**

**GPS Ranking: EX- (x3) Rank Deity Class**

**File: Mammon is a Princess of Hell and represents the Sin of Envy. She appears as a dark-skinned woman with yellow eyes and long violet hair. The last confirmed sighting of her was in Las Vegas where it is speculated that she runs a casino and hotel. Sources say that she owns the Bellagio though the information cannot be confirmed without further evidence.**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: You heard the lady. If you come across this woman, run and pray she never saw you or else we'll be holding another funeral because another one of our dumbass hunters tried to fight a Prince of Hell.**

**End File**

* * *

**Sorry about the whole x3 and x2 in the ranks of the Blacklight files. doesn't let me do triple pluses or minuses. Anyway, the finals match is a battle royale and to you Fortnite Players, NO! It's more like the Hunger Games but with teams and no cornucopia and they all get teleported to random parts of the map. What I'm saying is. Okay, it's actually more like PUBG. I hope the song was alright. Shut Up and Dance was the song that popped up on the radio when I was writing this so... Remember, review, fav, follow, and have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours.~**

**PS: Check out Deus Vult by Just a Bad Writer For Fun and The Crescent Moon by Lord Shiva. Also, does anyone know any good Naruto neglect fics? I've already read A Son Forgotten by DomYang, Prodigy Namikaze by SoulReaperCrewe, and Leaf's New Tree by CharitysSongBird.**


	20. Fighter's Unknown Battlegrounds

**Pyre: New chapter. The Finals are finally here! Let's get this match started! Let's see some of the more creative comments from the last chapter.**

**illhamcrazy123 says:** **And here I thought demons couldn't get even more stronger. Also good job on giving heaven and angels some credit to their strength. And i cannot put words on how excited I am for the gremory crush. I can picture the screams of the "boyfriends" as issei breaks their bodies to the point where phoenix tears are incapable of healing the damage.**

**Well then, I do hope you enjoy this chapter then!**

**ryani says: Oooohh nice twist making it a battle Royale. I hope the gremory team gets slaughtered by eden squad.**

**Thanks! Everyone wants to see this and I had fun writing this chapter.**

**So remember review, if you wanna**

**I'll waste no time with this and get right on with the legal crap. **

**Kuroka: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release nya~.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Unity Stadium, February 22, 2020, 11:55 AM; Current Time: 4 minutes and 25 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Irina exhaled. She had to admit that she was nervous. They had trained the week before this but still, a battle royale. The teams could just all gang up on them however, Issei had reassured her that everything would be fine. Irina turned her gaze to the other members of the team. Kiba had a hard look on his face as he ran a whetstone along Gram's blade. Gasper looked more nervous than she did with his shadow springing up every once in a while. Ingvild was meditating silently in an attempt to calm her nerves. Rossweisse was reading a book of magic spells. Mitsuki was eating out of a bag of cereal. The only one who looked calm was Issei. He had a small smile on his face as if he knew that everything would be okay.

Issei caught the worried gaze of Irina and gave her a reassuring smile. He planned on starting the match with a bang. A little surprise he had cooked up during the months of training. A beeping on his scroll alerted him. He saw a small flashing icon and clicked on it. A hologram of Grayfia appeared.

"_The match will be starting in one minute. All teams will be teleported to different parts of the map. The last team standing shall win. Please gather at the Center,_" Holo-Grayfia said as she flickered out. Issei looked at everyone else who nodded and they all walked out of the room.

* * *

Unity Stadium was built by the Four Maou in honor of the coalition formed between all the Pantheons. It was bigger than any stadium even the one in Lilith. The arena was enlarged by spacetime runes making it at least 100 square miles in diameter. The arena featured hundreds of viewing rooms for large groups and eateries for those who got hungry. There were screens and monitors in the hallways so that the audience would not miss a single moment of the match even if they went to the bathroom.

"Good afternoon Supernatural World! Naud here! No special guest this time. It's that day. The day you've all been waiting for. The Finals Match is here! As you all heard, the format for this match is a battle royale. The top 20 teams will battle it out in the arena for supremacy and the winning team will get their wish granted by the leaders. If you need a refresher on which teams are which then please allow me to remind you!" Naud said. He pressed a button and a picture of a woman with auburn hair and silver eyes appeared on the screen.

"This is the Hunters of Artemis lead by Artemis!" members of the Greek Pantheon cheered as they saw one of their own in the finals.

"Followed by Team Journey to the West lead by Sun Wukong!" the Chinese side cheered loudly.

"Next up, we have Team White Dragon Emperor of the Morningstar lead by Vali Lucifer!" the Devil Side and Grigori cheered with many women calling for Vali's attention.

"And then, your favorites, Team Rias Gremory!" the entire stadium erupted into wild cheers and screaming as Rias' team appeared on the screen.

"Next is Team Spear of the Heavenly Emperor lead by Cao Cao!" the members of the Hero Faction chanted Cao Cao's name as the team appeared on the screen.

"Now, we have Team Slash/Dog!" the Grigori cheered when Tobio's team appeared. Azazel smirked the other leaders.

"Here's a fan favorite. Team Vajra lead by Indra!" the Hindu Faction cheered at the God-King as his team appeared onscreen.

"Followed by Team Lightning lead by Baraqiel!" the Grigori roared with approval at the sight of one of their leaders participating. Azazel looked. Ambriel was on that team as well.

"Next up, the Hero of Olympus. Team Half-Blood led by Percy Jackson!"

"That's my boy!" Poseidon jumped up in the leader's box cheering. The other deities did the same as their children were on that team as well. Their cheers were echoed by their pantheon.

"Next up, Team Sitri lead by Sona Sitri!" Serafall practically screamed when Sona's team was announced and shown on the screen. The other leaders sweatdropped at the scene.

"Now we have Team Babel Belial led by Diehauser Belial, King of the Rating Games!" the devils cheered even louder. A lot of their own had made it to the finals.

"Then, we have Team Imperial Purpure led by Sairaorg Bael!" the Bael House cheered as Misla cried a few tears of joy at her son. Lord Bael looked disappointed that he had made it but hid it well. Zekram had a small smile on his face when he saw Sairaorg.

"Next up, Team Shooting Star lead by… Shooting Star," it seems he was a fan favorite because the crowd cheered for him.

"Followed by Team Phoenix led by Ruval Phenex!" the Phenex House cheered loudly with Raiser and Ravel chief among them.

"Next up, we have Team Trump Card of Heaven led by Dulio Gesualdo!" the angels cheered for the team. Heaven's top players were in them. Griselda Quarta. Dulio Gesualdo. And the Scourge of God, Risa. Yasaka smiled at the sight of her childhood friend.

"Next up, Team Hell Duo led by Rem!" the arena cheered. Despite their mysterious backgrounds, the two had become a quick fan favorite annihilating team after team despite there only being two of them.

"Followed by Team Agares led by Seekvaira Agares!" the Agares House cheered loudly for their heiress.

"Next up, Team Leisure of the Kings led by Typhon!" there were cheers but mainly from the Greek Pantheon. Zeus had let Typhon out on the condition that he participate in the Azazel Cup. Typhon accepted wanting to be freed.

"Followed by Team Takamagahara lead by Inari!" the Shinto Pantheon roared in approval as a blonde man with whiskers appeared on the screen. Yasaka sighed. When she heard that her father, Lord Susanoo, and Lady Kushinadahime were all participating, she began to plan for collateral damage.

"Last but not least, Eden Squad! Led by the one, the only, Oppai Dragon!" the entire arena erupted into loud cheers

"Let's get this game started folks! No grace period this time. You've had two weeks to plan a strategy! May the odds be ever in your favor!"

* * *

Issei and the others were teleported onto a floating island. The entire arena was in a deep valley with lush forests and a river running through it that seemed to be at least nearly a hundred kilometers in size. Littered around the valley were small abandoned settlements. In the sky were numerous floating islands much like the ones they were on. Issei could feel the teams as they were transported in. Rias's peerage was close to theirs. A couple of miles west of them. Also, several other powerful signatures were heading towards them.

**Play the Dragon Force OST from Fairy Tail**

"Issei, I sense multiple team signatures heading for us," Ingvild said. "What do we do? We'll be taken out at the beginning if we don't do anything!"

"Ingvild is right Aniki we should run!" Mitsuki said with the others agreeing with her. Issei looked at them and smiled.

"We're not running. I'm planning on starting this off with a bang," Issei said as he summoned two gauntlets on his hand. Issei concentrated a large amount of energy into his gauntlets. Two magic circles appeared. One blue. One red.

The blue one had intricate runes carved all over it. The seals and circles all overlapped each other forming a complex formula with Tiamat's symbol was spinning lazily in the center.

The red one also had intricate runes on it. This time, Ddraig's symbol spun in the center.

Issei raised his hands in the air causing the circles to expand and crackle with power. The others' eyes grew wide as they felt the amount of power surging through those circles. Lightning filled the sky forcing all the teams in the arena to stop and look towards the source of the power surge.

"So, Issei's starting off with a bang huh?" Vali said smirking.

**{That seems to be the case.}** Albion said.

The others looked carefully in Eden Squad's supposed direction.

Once he had felt the power reach its apex, Issei slammed his palms on the ground and yelled out,

"**SUMMONING: DDRAIG AND TIAMAT!**" an explosion of power came from the circles as they floated in the air and expanded. A massive red western dragon flew from the red circle while a massive blue western dragon flew from the blue circle.

* * *

The leaders looked on in shock. Issei had managed to summon the Red Dragon Emperor and the Chaos Karma Dragon! How!?

Cornelius looked at the match with renewed interest. When the matches started, he honestly just came here to watch the young cambion's match. Eric, Lisa, and Isran looked on in amazement.

"Whoa, that's what the kid needed all those books from Thoth for!?" Eric said in amazement.

"Obviously. But how did he-?" Lisa was interrupted by Isran.

"The notes," he said. The three turned to him curiously. "We had a Dragon Emperor in our employ long ago. The White One. He was studying the seals that God used to create Divine Dividing. I think the kid finished his research and found a way to form a Dragon Gate to summon the Heavenly Dragon of Domination," he explained. The three turned their attention back to the match with amazement in their eyes.

* * *

Vali looked with wide eyes at the sight of who he assumed was Ddraig. The blue one was obviously Tiamat.

"Did he just-?" Bikou tried to get the words out of his mouth. Kuroka nodded mutely.

Tatsuya looked on with a fearful look as he saw two massive dragons flying in the sky. Next, to him, Eren, Hiruko, and Yuu were all cowering.

Rias grit her teeth. She knew who those dragons were. Question was, how did Issei do it?

"Rias...," Akeno said looking warily at Ddraig and Tiamat's hovering forms.

"I know Akeno," she said.

* * *

**|Well, whelp! Looks we finally get to come out and play!|** Tiamat said with excitement as she landed next to Issei. Tiamat nuzzled him with her snout affectionately.

**[I assume you want us to take out as many teams except for the Gremory and the Lucifer?]** Ddraig asked as he flexed his wings. He was excited. For the first time in 3000 years, he was free.

Issei looked at him and nodded with a bloodthirsty smirk.

"Unleash hell," was all Issei said. The two dragons roared loudly in approval and flew off in the direction of the other teams. Issei looked back at Eden Squad with a smile. Everyone else had their jaws on the floor.

"Wha-? How?" Gasper tried to say. Issei began to speak.

"I've been researching summoning magic and how the Boosted Gear works. I asked Blacklight for more information on their creation and they gave me the notes of one of the previous White Dragon Emperors. Essentially, I couldn't break the seals on the Gear as I didn't have much experience with sealing magic or Enochian so I modified it." Issei said as he stared at Ddraig and Tiamat annihilating the opposing teams as a literal storm of flames erupted from their mouths.

"_**Team Phoenix, Team Shooting Star, and Team Agares have been eliminated. What a start folks!**_" Naud announced.

**End OST**

"Modified?" Rossweisse asked.

"Yeah, I added something to the binding and locking glyphs on the seal. Took me a month of work to do so and modified them with summoning glyphs as well as a power matrix that's triggered and powered by my Miasma. It opens a Dragon Gate that summons Ddraig and Tiamat. Our current time limit is six minutes before the two dispel and go back into the gear and then I have to wait one week for the matrix to recharge," Issei explained nonchalantly. The rest of them except for Rossweisse had blank looks at the explanation.

_What?_ they all thought. Rossweisse had stars in her eyes. She ran up to Issei and began to fire question after question.

"How did he do it? Did he use multiple sealing arrays powered by the main array that fed power into a bunch of smaller conduits that powered the other sealing matrices? What about their souls? How did he prevent them from going to the afterlife? I've been researching Enochian Runes and saw that they can be used to cast a certain spell to seal off heaven and the afterlife realms!," Issei backed away as Rossweisse closed in on him asking question after question.

"I'll tell you later," he said. Rossweisse nodded excitedly as she calmed down.

Issei looked at them. Time to do the thing they fought so hard for. "You guys ready. Time to initiate Plan Destroy Team Gremory!" Issei said.

"Roger!" they all said in unison as the entire team flew off in the direction of Rias's team.

* * *

Rias and her peerage hid under the cover of the canopy as she watched the forms of Ddraig and Tiamat fly overhead. She flew over to the canopy and watched as Tiamat opened her mouth and unleashed a torrent of blue flames eliminating Ruval's peerage. Rias looked down in deep thought. With Ddraig and Tiamat fighting on Issei's side, the chances of winning the game became really low. Luckily, the two dragons seemed to ignore them as Rias watched Ddraig engage Indra and Baraqiel in an aerial battle that shook the entire arena.

"Alright, we're almost there. Issei and his team were last sensed on that cluster of floating islands. If we can form an alliance with Sona and Sairaorg, who are headed in the same direction we are, we can defeat Issei," Rias said to them. The more experienced members nodded but Tatsuya looked down with hatred and jealousy present in his eyes. Issei. He vowed to defeat him. To humiliate him in front of Rias and everyone just like he did to him all those months ago. He looked to Eren, Yuu, and Hiruko and they all had similar looks on their faces that seemed to convey one thought. Destroy Issei Hyoudou.

Rias and the others took off with Xenovia, Akeno, and Koneko carrying the boys. They landed on one of the islands. As Rias finished her headcount, she heard a voice.

"So you finally show up," she whirled around and readied a magic circle and saw Issei standing there with his arms crossed looking at her and her peerage.

"Issei…," Rias said sadly. Issei looked at her with blank eyes and turned his gaze to the other girls and the boys.

"You brought them?" he asked. Rias gulped nervously and nodded. Issei kept looking at her with a blank look.

"Issei, I don't want to fight you. I just want to talk," she begged.

"I have nothing to say to you," he said as he summoned Boosted Gear. Rias adopted a sad look on her face. A few tears fell from her eyes as she steeled herself.

"No. I propose a deal. If my peerage beats yours, you will give me a chance to speak with you," Rias said with a hard look on her face.

"What do I get if I win?" Issei asked her.

"I-I…" Rias tried to get something out. Issei sighed.

"If I win, you dump them in front of the entire Supernatural World," Issei said with a serious look on his face. Rias looked taken aback. She was going to do that anyway after the games. Her wish, erase any memory of her and the girls from the boys.

"Done," she said. The boys looked at her in shock. Tatsuya quickly composed himself and grinned cockily.

"It won't matter. The only thing Rias-chan will be talking to is a broken, crippled body. I'm going to pay you back for breaking my arm you little shit," Tatsuya said as he summoned Gravity Prison. The other boys also summoned their Sacred Gears.

"Alright, cocky are we?" Issei said as he unsummoned Boosted Gear and put his hands in his pockets.

Tatsuya charged towards him and threw a punch. Issei lazily leaned his head out of the way. Issei brought up his foot and planted it in Tatsuya's gut kicking him away sending him crashing into a rock.

Eren summoned a massive ball of violet flames and fired it at Issei. The fireball hurtled towards Issei who simply looked at the ball. All of a sudden, the fireball was dispelled by an invisible barrier. Issei lazily blocked Yuu's sword with one finger and swung him towards Hiruko who was creating ice spears with his Sacred Gear.

Issei stretched his hand and lifted them all off the ground.

"Let's go somewhere private," Issei said with a sadistic smile as he summoned his shadow wings and flew off with the boys.

Rias pinched the bridge of her nose at the sight. Those boys. At this rate, they would get themselves accidentally killed. As she made to spread her wings to go watch, she jumped back when a halo exploded in front of her. She turned to see Irina and the other members of Eden Squad.

**Play Before Dawn from Fate/Apocrypha**

"Where do you think you're going?" Irina said looking at her with her hands on her hips. Rias looked at her warily.

"To fight Issei?" Rias said but it sounded more like a question rather than a statement.

"Not on our watch," Rossweisse said drawing Misteleinn.

"Really, Rossweisse," Rias said. She was confident that she could defeat Rossweisse.

"We're serious," Irina drew Hauteclere and pointed the blade at Rias. The two women looked at each other as their respective teams backed away from them.

"Alright then. Have it your way," Rias said as red tribal marking started to appear all over her body. Irina smiled as she summoned **Angelic Dragon Booster**. An aura surrounded the two women.

"**Goddess of Ruin!**"

"**Code: Seraphina!**"

The aura around the two intensified and a pillar of red and blue beam light shot into the air from their respective sources. As the light died down, Rias and Irina stood across from each other in their respective forms.

"Prepare to lose Irina," Rias said smirking as she formed several balls of destructive energy. Irina remained silent and dropped into a stance.

"I'm sorry, I'm winning this," Irina said. Rias snapped and fired several spheres of destruction. Irina blurred out of existence and began to weave her way around Rias's attacks. Rias fired ball after ball of energy only to miss. Irina appeared in front of her face and swung Hauteclere. Rias blocked it with a blade of destruction.

"You still think you can win?" she said.

Rias grit her teeth and brought her leg up kicking Irina. Not wanting her to get any advantage, Rias unleashed a destructive blast of concussive energy that blasted Irina back.

Irina flew backward at high speeds after being knocked away by Rias. She twisted her body and righted herself in midair and dug Hauteclere's blade into the ground.

She looked up and saw Rias charging towards her at extremely high speeds and tackled her off the island. Akeno and Mitsuki both ran to the edge.

"RIAS!" Akeno yelled.

"RIN!" Mitsuki screamed.

The two plummeted at high speeds through the clouds clashing as Rias held on to Irina trying to eliminate her and only became a red light to Mitsuki and Akeno.

Sona and Sairaorg made their way to the island where Issei and his peerage were last sensed. Sona stopped.

"Sairaorg, do you feel that?" she said. He nodded.

"Yeah," he looked up and saw Rias in her Goddess of Ruin form plummeting to the ground.

Rias crashed into the ground in front of them causing small tremors. Rias shakily got up on her one knee and looked up spitting blood from her mouth as she clutched her side. Sairaorg and Sona followed her gaze.

There, hovering in the sky was Irina wearing a black and white exorcist uniform with ten blue ethereal wings spread out and a large blue halo spinning behind her head staring at them with her glowing gold eyes.

**End OST**

"Rias," Sona said snapping her out of her gaze. Rias looked at her with an unreadable gaze and gave her a forced nod. Rias wanted to be the one to fight Irina but with the girl's current level of power. She had no chance. That form allowed her to fight on the level of Nephthys, a powerful Egyptian Goddess. Her power level back then must have been at a C-Rank Deity Class at her most powerful.

"Rias, did you see her fight in their last match?" Sairaorg said summoning Regulus Nemea. Rias nodded.

"She defeated Nephthys with that form," Rias said.

"Don't underestimate her Rias. Even in your new form, Irina's current state surpasses both you and me at our strongest by a large margin. I estimate she is an EX- Rank Ultimate Class in base power in this form alone," Sona said. Rias's eyes widened.

"She's stronger than Grayfia and the other two Satans in their base states?" Rias asked her with wide eyes. Sona nodded. Her sister in her base state was an SSS-Rank Ultimate Class on the GPS which would translate to Satan Class on their ranking system. At their strongest, Falbium, Serafall, and Grayfia were CC-Rank Deity Class in power making them more powerful than most of the Cadre and a match for most gods

"So at her fullest in that form, she is a C-Rank Deity Class?" Sairaorg asked. Sona nodded.

"I estimate it will take her about 90 to 150 boosts before she reaches the low levels of Deity Class. Her limit so to speak. It's something we can't afford to let her reach," Sona said as she readied a magic circle raising her power level. Her entire peerage readied themselves to fight this being in front of them. Sairaorg's peerage did the same. Rias looked up in the sky and saw her peerage landed next to her.

"You're outnumbered, Irina!" Sona said.

"Really? I am?" she said as Kiba appeared next to her. To their left, Ingvild and Gasper landed. Mitsuki landed on a tree branch and sat lazily. Rossweisse landed behind their group.

"You really think you can come out of this unscathed?" Sairaorg said as he entered his Balance Breaker.

Irina looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not. But don't think we'll just roll over and let you eliminate us," she said pumping power into Hauteclere.

Sona's mind ran through several dozen plans. From what she estimated, Issei's peerage members were all Ultimate Class in strength. Mitsuki and Irina were her biggest problems. Those two girls wielded Deity Class power with their strongest forms and their trump cards were Saji, Rias, and Sairaorg. Sairaorg wielded Deity Class power as well but it was D-Rank at best. Sona had no more time to form any more plans as Ingvild fired a rapid onslaught of water bullets at the group causing them to scatter.

* * *

Issei was bored. They were supposed to be strong after all that training. He yawned and backhanded Eren into a rock.

"C' mon. I thought you were supposed to be strong," Issei said checking his nails. Tatsuya grit his teeth and charged blindly at Issei. He threw a talisman forward and a punched threw it.

"**Gowan Fu!**" Tatsuya's physical strength doubled as he landed a punch on Issei's face. His eyes grew wide when Issei wasn't even pushed back an inch.

Issei delivered a devastating punch to Tatsuya's stomach. A sickening sound was heard all over the field as Tatsuya's ribs caved in from the force of the blow.

Tatsuya fell on the ground clutching his stomach and vomited his lunch and a large amount of blood.

Yuu appeared in front of Issei having promoted to Knight and swung his sword. Issei parried it and threw a punch towards his face. Thanks to his Sacred Gear, Perfect Vision, Yuu dodged it only to feel immense pain as Issei kicked him high into the air. Issei appeared behind him and swung his heel down on Yuu's back sending him down into the ground. Issei landed next to the boy's battered body.

Hiruko began to back away. He did not sign up for this. He saw Issei turn to look at him. He saw him disappear and reappear in front of him. He yelped and fell on his ass. Tears began to stream down his face.

"P-please! Don't hurt me!" Hiruko said as he pissed himself. Issei looked down in disgust.

"You were talking all that mad shit a second ago. Did Koneko and Ravel choose to date a pussy cuck?" he said. His words angered Hiruko and he jumped up in anger and threw a haymaker at Issei. Issei smirked.

_What an idiot!_ Issei said as he caught the punch. Issei slowly twisted his arm as Hiruko began to scream in pain. A fireball collided with Issei sending him flying back. Hiruko turned and saw Eren with his gauntlet smoking.

"Get up," Eren said helping him to his feet. Across from them, Yuu and Tatsuya were also rising to their feet as they looked at Issei.

"Really, that was fire? That was way too cold to be called fire," Issei said as he stood up with his entire body on fire. The most shocking thing was that he wasn't burning. "Still though, points for effort," Issei said as he brushed the flames off him. He felt the presence of Ddraig and Tiamat reenter the Boosted Gear. So, the six minutes were up huh. In those six minutes, Leisure of the Kings, Team Belial, Team Phoenix, Team Agares, and Team Shooting Star were all eliminated from the match. A large portion of Indra's peerage had been eliminated as well leaving him, his queen, his rook, and his bishop.

**[It sucks that we'll have to wait another week before we can come out again.]** Ddraig said. Tiamat rubbed his back comforting him.

"_Sorry guys. I'll work on extending the time limit,_" Issei said to them apologetically.

**|It is alright whelp. That was pretty fun. Did you see Indra's face when we set fire to nearly his entire peerage! HAHAHAHA!|** Tiamat laughed inside Issei's head.

**[That was pretty funny! Shachi was like "Wuh!" HAHAHAHA!]** Ddraig's booming laughter was heard causing Issei to internally chuckle at the dragon couple in his head.

Seeing Tatsuya's fist blazing towards his face, Issei lazily batted it aside. He thrust his palm forward launching Tatsuya back several feet. Hiruko took this time to sneak up on Issei. He prepared an ice spell using magic that Koneko had taught. The **Ice Fist**. An ice technique combined with his Sacred Gear. As he threw the punch, he felt an intense pain course through his leg. He looked down as saw a spear of pure darkness stabbed through his leg missing his femur by mere centimeters. Issei turned his head to look at him. His hand made a waving motion launching Hiruko through a rock.

Hiruko's vision swam as he tried to get up. He felt a foot plant itself on his chest.

"Go to sleep," Issei's fist slammed into his face. A crunching noise rang throughout the island signaling that his jaw and nose were broken.

"**Pawn of Rias Gremory has been eliminated!**" Naud announced.

Issei turned his gaze back to the remaining three boys. The three shakily took a step back before steeling themselves and began their suicidal charge towards Issei.

* * *

Irina parried a blow from Tsubaki's naginata and fired a light blast. A hole appeared and absorbed the blast. She turned her head to Kuisha who opened a hole and fired it back at her. Irina swung Hauteclere slicing the blast in half.

Kuisha and Tsubaki. The two people she was most worried about other than Sona, Sairaorg, and Rias.

Irina hovered across from them as they stood protectively in front of Sona and Sairaorg. She saw a lightning blast heading her way and raised a simple light barrier blocking it. Akeno. Her blood boiled at the sight of the Queen of Gremory. She turned around to look at Akeno. Violet flaming spheres appeared behind her and became spears made of pure fire.

"You know I can't turn you into KFC but third-degree burns seem to be a good second place," Irina said with a blank look in her eyes. She suddenly swiped her hand in Rias's directions as her spears collided with Rias's attacks.

Rias watched as Irina vanished into thin air. She jumped back as Irina appeared in front of her. She grabbed Rias's face and began to pour light into her hand. Rias felt the most intense burning pain inside her. Her organs felt as if they were being liquified by Irina.

Sona fired a blast of highly pressurized water at Irina knocking her away forcing her to drop Rias.

"Rias! Are you alright?" Sona dropped down next to her. Rias nodded shakily.

"You dare!" Saiaraorg's rage boiled over. He didn't know why the angel was so hellbent on trying to hurt Rias so badly.

Irina narrowed her eyes at Sairaorg. This was bad. She felt herself get knocked back crashing through several trees before skidding to a stop. Sairaorg appeared in the air, his fist coated in Touki, ready to slam it down on her torso. Irina reacted in a split second and threw her arm forward launching a telekinetic wave that threw Sairaorg into the air.

"Damnit," she cursed underneath her breath as she used Hauteclere to stand up. She coughed something out of her mouth into her hand. Blood. Ever since the fight started, things have been stagnant. Neither side let up but slowly and surely, Eden Squad was being pushed back by the combined might of Gremory, Sitri, and Bael peerage.

Sairaorg righted himself in midair and hovered over the angel. She may have the ability to become more powerful but power meant nothing without skill.

"Give up!" he said. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"No! I will win! For Issei's sake!" she said pointing Hauteclere at him. Sairaorg shook his head.

"Then forgive me," Sairaorg said. He flickered out of existence and reappeared in front of her. Her eyes widened as Sairaorg's touki-covered fist rocketed towards her ready to eliminate her from the game.

*BAM!*

A white gauntlet blocked the punch from connecting with Irina.

**{DIVIDE!}**

Sairaorg felt half of his power drain from him causing him to jump back immediately.

Irina looked up to see Vali in his Balance Breaker in front of her.

"You alright?" Vali asked her. She nodded gratefully at him. Irina turned to see Arthur, Bikou, Arthur, Le Fay, Fenrir, and Gogmagog standing behind her.

"Sorry we're late to the party," Bikou said leaning on Riyu Jingu Bang.

"Irina-chi, did this guy hurt you nya?" Kuroka asked as a crimson aura surrounded her. Irina looked at her and nodded.

"Be careful. He's a Longinus User," she said seriously as she coated Hauteclere in light.

Sairaorg grit his teeth. He couldn't take all of them at once. Even in Breakdown the Beast, he would lose due to the White Dragon Emperor's presence there.

"Surrender! You have no hope of winning," Arthur said pointing Caliburn at him with Le Fay creating several high powered magic circles. Fenrir growled at Sairaorg while Gogmagog formed miniguns on his arms.

"Then, let's even the odds a bit," Rias landed next to Sairaorg along with Sona, Tsubaki, and Akeno.

"Ne, Vali. Can I use it now?" Kuroka asked as the red chakra cloak around her intensified to the point where two tails were swinging viciously behind her. Vali nodded.

Kuroka got down on all fours and roared a roar so animalistic it sent chills down the opposing side's spines. She sounded like a cross between a jaguar, a tiger, and a lion all crossed together. Kuroka's right eye became green as her fangs elongated. Her skin began to peel off revealing a blood-red skin like energy. Blue flames began to encircle her entire body forming a black and blue sphere. The ground underneath Kuroka gave away underneath her creating a large crater. Everyone around Kuroka backed away as the flaming sphere expanded to about 15 meters in height and thirty meters in diameter.

"Sona…" Rias said fearfully as she looked at the sphere in anticipation. Sona's form remained frozen as she felt Kuroka's power skyrocket. Sona estimated her power as it kept growing. B-Rank Ultimate. BB-Rank Ultimate. BBB-Rank Ultimate. It kept rising then stopped. The flaming sphere exploded outward forcing all in its vicinity to raise a shield to prevent from being burned.

Irina looked on with awe at where Kuroka once stood. In her place was a massive two-tailed flaming tiger. She stood at fifteen meters in height and thirty meters from head to tail. Her eyes were an eerie green and yellow like an odd-eyed cat. Her body seemed to be composed entirely of cobalt and black flames that burned animatedly throughout her form.

"So, she's achieved Bijuu status," Yasaka said as she threw popcorn into her mouth. The other leaders turned to her confused.

"Bijuu status?" Serafall asked her.

"The Bijuu are nine extremely powerful animal type daiyōkai. I am one of them holding the title, Kyuubi no Bakegitsune. Risa was one as well before she became a member of Raphael-dono's Brave Saints holding the title Ichibi no Bakedanuki," Yasaka explained. "Each one of us has the potential to reach the low levels of Deity Class in power. Except for father of course. He was turned into a God."

Kuroka growled at Rias, Sona, Sairaorg, Tsubaki, Kuisha, and Akeno. She roared shaking the entire forest and causing a shockwave of flames to expel from her body. The offending devils took to the sky to avoid being burned. Tsubaki saw a shadow cover their own and turned to see Kuroka swipe her flaming paw eliminating Tsubaki from the game.

The remaining five looked on with wide eyes as Tsubaki dissolved into light particles. Kuroka landed on the forest floor shaking the ground.

"Kuroka," Irina hovered next to her head. Kuroka turned to her.

"**Yeah**," she said.

"Don't take out Rias. I'm sure Issei wants to do it himself," Irina said.

"**Right. I'll guess I'll just go fight Shirone and the others then**," Kuroka said as she leaped into the air in Koneko's direction followed by the rest of Vali's peerage.

Rias reacted quickly and fired a sphere of destruction at Kuroka. Irina was quicker. She fired an **Astelia Nova** at Rias's attack causing it to explode. Rias turned her furious gaze back to Irina and Vali.

"Focus on your opponents," Vali said as he flew towards them.

* * *

Eren screamed in pain as Issei snapped his leg. A portion of his tibia was seen jutting out of the skin of his leg. Issei walked towards him slowly ready to take him out. Eren looked at Issei through his swollen eyes and shook with fear. Issei slammed his fist into Eren's temple driving the boy's face into the ground knocking him unconscious.

An announcement was heard stating that he had been retired.

Issei turned his gaze back to Yuu and Tatsuya, who were cowering in fear. It became too much for Yuu as he dropped his sword and ran for the hills. Issei sighed and took off towards Yuu.

Yuu's brilliant plan was to eliminate himself by jumping so that monster Hyoudou wouldn't be able to hurt him. Then, he would bide his time and take Hyoudou out after the games and snatch up that angel for himself. As Yuu dropped down onto the forest floor, a silver arrow came from the brush and pinned him to the tree by his shoulders.

A woman with white hair and silver eyes walked out of the brush followed by an army of pre-pubescent girls.

"Lady Artemis, what shall we do with him?" a girl with spiky black hair and blue eyes asked as she pointed her spear at him.

"Nothing Thalia. He'll be bait. I'm sure the Kókkino Aftokrátora Drákon will come for him. He is my true prey," Artemis said licking her lips. Thalia backed away from her. The regular Artemis would have eliminated him however, this wasn't normal Artemis. This was Full Moon Artemis. Nicknamed Flirtymis by Apollo, this Artemis is much more uninhibited and had a teasing and flirtatious personality befitting that of a onee-sama unlike normal Artemis, who has been called a feminazi by her brother from time to time.

"Could you guys wait?" Percy said as he and his team popped out of the brush. An immense pressure fell onto the area as Issei appeared and grabbed Yuu. Artemis immediately fired her bow only for her arrow to be snatched out of the air by a tendril of darkness.

Issei looked at them and saw a red-faced Artemis who was breathing heavily. His danger senses went into overdrive as Artemis sauntered her way over to him. She put a hand on his cheek.

"Red Dragon Emperor. We finally meet. Officially at least," Artemis said. Issei froze.

"Umm, uh," Issei said as his mind crashed. Artemis was renowned as a man-hating goddess yet here she was caressing his cheek. "Pardon my rudeness, Artemis-sama, but why aren't you eliminating me?"

"Oh, Issei. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm asking you to surrender the match in exchange for that rat," she said gesturing to a struggling Yuu.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline," Issei said. He saw Percy and Annabeth standing there looking at him apologetically. "Please help me!"

"Sorry buddy," Percy said. "Not getting in the way of Full Moon Artemis again."

_Okay, plan B it is!_ Issei's eyes turned black and he let loose a wave of telekinetic force knocking everyone back. Issei formed his wings and shot off into the sky with Yuu.

Artemis got up and saw Issei flying away. She smiled. Artemis always did love a good hunt. It was a shame her normal self never saw men with the same view that she did. 4000 years of being a virgin were getting old really fast.

Issei shook his head to forget the encounter. He almost forgot that he had Yuu when he spoke up.

"So, any chance you'll let me go?" Yuu asked. Issei looked at him blankly before smirking evilly.

"Poor choice of words," Issei said as he let go of Yuu.

The boy screamed in terror as he fell at high speeds to the ground. Eventually, he couldn't take it and passed out from fear eliminating him from the game.

"_**Pawn of Rias Gremory has been eliminated!**_" Naud announced.

"One to go," Issei said as he sped back in Tatsuya's direction.

* * *

Rias was slammed into a cliff face. Ever since Team Vali arrived, the battle had turned in the favor of Eden Squad. Kuroka's new form was difficult to deal with as the nekoshou rained fire and death around her. A majority of their forces had been wiped out by Vali's Team and Issei's Team. Only, she, Sairaorg, Sona, Akeno, Kuisha, Koneko, Xenovia, and Momo remained to fight. On Eden Squad's side, they had lost Gasper due to a dirty move from Kuisha and on Vali's side, Gogmagog due to Rias and Sairaorg's combined effort to break through its immense defenses.

"Rias, cover me," Akeno said to her as they hid behind a magical barrier that was straining from the assault of Eden Squad and Team WDEOM (White Dragon Emperor of the Morningstar).

"What are you going to do Akeno?" Rias asked.

"I'm going to try to take out either Mitsuki or Irina but I need to get close. Can you give me some cover?" she asked once more. Rias looked at her and nodded. She relayed the plan to Sona and Sairaorg across the CC and received an affirmative from them.

"On my signal," Rias said. She formed a massive magic circle above her head.

"Now Akeno! Go! **Regal Judgement!**" Rias fired a massive beam of dark crimson energy at Eden Squad and Team WDEOM causing them to scatter. Sona, Kuisha, and Momo fired their most powerful spells at the group while Sairaorg dropped down and began to engage Vali in a fight.

Akeno used her knight enhanced speed to move behind Irina. She raised her hand to the sky and a blue bolt of lightning struck her hand.

Irina whirled around to see a smirking Akeno. Irina watched as Akeno lowered her raised hand and thunder filled the sky. Irina looked up to see a massive dragon made of thunder heading for her. Time slowed as Irina felt someone shove her out of the way. Irina turned to see Le Fay get hit by the lightning dragon.

"LE FAY!" Irina screamed as the girl screamed in pain before being eliminated. She turned to Akeno who looked shocked at the turn of events. Irina appeared in front of Akeno and swung Hauteclere. Blood sprayed all over the arena as Akeno watched in shock as Irina inflicted a massive wound across her chest.

"_**Queen of Rias Gremory has been eliminated!**_**" **Naud announced.

* * *

Tatsuya ran. After Issei went after Yuu, Tatsuya ran for his life. This was not worth it. Banging Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima was not worth having every bone in his body broken by an irate monster.

"Tatsuya!" he heard Issei call in a sing-song voice.

"Come out, come out wherever you are?~"

Tatsuya tried to calm his breathing as he hid behind a rock. After five minutes, he looked over his shoulder to see if Issei was still there. Seeing no sign of him, he relaxed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he froze. Issei was standing in front of him with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Boo!"

Tatsuya screamed and ran away. He felt something wrap around his leg and slam him into the ground.

Issei wasted no time and grabbed the groaning boy's head and slammed it back into the ground. He lifted him and stared into the boy's now swollen eyes.

"This is getting boring. Are you bored?" Issei asked him as he held Tatsuya in the air by his throat. Tatsuya shook his head. "Really?" Issei said. "I guess it's just me then. See you in the hospital, you stupid bitch!" Issei summoned the Boosted Gear gauntlet and drove a punch into Tatsuya at full strength.

The boy coughed up a massive amount of blood as his ribs caved in. He felt an intense pain in his chest as one of his ribs punctured his lung. Tatsuya crashed through five trees before skidding to a stop on the ground. Issei appeared in front of his broken body. He now had broken ribs, a punctured lung, a shattered clavicle, a fractured skull, and a broken leg. Issei watched as Tatsuya dissolved into lights.

He extended his senses across the arena. Baraqiel and Indra were fighting each other based on their fluctuating power levels, Artemis, her hunters, and Team Half-Blood were on his trail, and his and Vali's teams were fighting Rias, Sairaorg, and Sona's team. He felt Le Fay's signature disappear causing waves of worry to go through him. Shortly after, Akeno's signature disappeared. He needed to get there and fast.

* * *

Sairaorg was getting tired. He may be powerful but to fight against the White Dragon Emperor who slew both the reaper Pluto and Azi Dahaka, it was taxing on him. A massive power signature drew his attention as he felt it getting closer. He recognized the power.

"Issei," he said. Vali stopped his attack and looked in the direction Sairaorg was staring in. A red streak landed in front of the two warring sides drawing everyone's attention.

Rias turned to see a red comet land in front of them. The dust cleared revealing Issei in his Balance Breaker.

"Isse-" Rias didn't even finish her sentence when Issei drove a devastating left hook into her stomach sending her flying into a rock.

Sona, Sairaorg, and their peerages looked on in shock. Did Issei just gut-punch Rias Gremory?

Rias dug her way out of the rubble and clutched her gut. Thankfully, her **Goddess of Ruin** form managed to keep her from getting anything other than a severe bruise.

"Issei," Rias said longingly. Issei stared silent and readied himself. Sona and Sairaorg landed in front of Rias and took defensive stances.

"Issei! Please let her talk! She made a mistake!" Sona said pleading for Issei to hear Rias out. Sairaorg remained silent confused at what Rias could have possibly done to Issei to warrant such hostility.

"I have nothing to say to her at the moment Kaichou. Now step-" Issei's entire body stiffened when he felt it. Them!

"Issei," Irina landed next to him with a grim look on her face. The other members of Eden Squad immediately dropped into a defensive formation.

Vali's team became confused. What was wrong with them? They weren't the only ones confused. Rias, Sona, and Sairaorg were confused by Eden Squad's sudden actions.

"**Ne, Vali. What's wrong…**" Kuroka saw that Vali was frozen as well. Just what was going on?

"Kuroka, prepare yourself. We're about to be in for the fight of our lives," Vali said.

**{Heed his words Nibi No Bakeneko}** Albion said.

**[Albion, be careful. These two weren't fighting at full power back when we first met them]** Ddraig said from the Boosted Gear.

**|Ready yourselves, whelps|** Tiamat warned them as she sensed the two massive power signatures approaching rapidly.

* * *

"Sirzechs, get them out of there!" Azrael yelled startling the other leaders.

"What why?" Sirzechs asked. The camera feed on the arena flickered as if some sort of interference was happening.

"Sirzechs, we are losing the camera feed in the arena. Something's messing with them," Ajuka said as he tried to find out what was happening. The other gods just sat there confused.

Michael took this time to speak up.

"They're here Sirzechs. He's here. They're making their move," Michael said. Sirzechs froze.

"Grayfia, call the order to retire everyone in the arena! NOW!" Sirzechs ordered. Grayfia nodded.

"Ajuka, Serafall, Falbium! With me!" the Satans stood up at the order and teleported into the arena.

"Grayfia, what's wrong?" Gabriel said as she looked at Grayfia's increasingly frustrated face.

"We can't retire them," she said. The Archangels looked at her in shock. No one could be retired. "Right now, they're all effectively trapped in there. The Four Satans are trapped in there as well," Grayfia informed them. The leaders turned back to the increasingly fuzzy camera feed.

* * *

"Issei, how close are they?" Ingvild asked as she readied her **Blood Dragon Ascension**.

"I don't k-" A tendril of darkness slammed into Issei and pinned him to the cliff. Everyone's eyes grew wide as Issei was easily dispatched. A man in red armor landed in between the groups and swung his halberd sending them all flying away. The man raised his hand and everyone felt themselves being pinned to the ground.

"I can't move!" Rias said as she tried to get up. Sona, Vali, and Sairaorg all tried to get up much to their failure.

The man turned his gaze to a pinned Issei.

"Well, well Little Dragon, we meet again," a sinister voice called out from the trees. A woman floated out of the canopy with her hands extended. Issei grunted in pain as her hold tightened. He looked at the woman and man and his eyes widened.

"Rem? Seth?"

"Hello, kid. I'm going to enjoy paying you back for that time back in Tokyo," the man said.

"Come now, Sitri. He wants him alive and the Firstborn said that we couldn't kill him," the woman said to the now dubbed Sitri.

"Tch! If she wasn't the one ordering it, I would've slit you from mouth to anus and wore you like a jacket. Be thankful to Gremory here kid," Sitri said.

"Gremory? Sitri? You're devils," Rias said from her position. Gremory turned her gaze towards her and her face scrunched up in disgust.

"No, no, no, you stupid girl. We're Demons. Entirely different and superior to your race in every way. After all, your ancestors took our names after all. Honestly, I feel offended that a weak slut like you is using my name," Gremory said from her position.

"Gremory. Let's get this over with," Sitri said.

"Yes, let's," she said as Gremory lifted Issei into the air. As they were about to leave, a series of destructive energy spheres impacted the ground in front of them. The two looked up into the sky and saw The Four Satans hovering above them.

"Let him go," Sirzechs said.

"I'm afraid they can't do that," a voice called out.

Rias turned her head and was surprised at who it was.

"Akeno?" she asked hesitantly. She looked like Akeno. Except for her eyes. They were the most poisonous shade of yellow.

"Akeno" ignored her and walked up to Issei who was still being held by Gremory.

"Hello, Issei. I've wanted to meet with you for so long and here we are," "Akeno" said to him. Issei glared at her and spit in her face. "Akeno" raised her hand and wiped the spit off. "You have balls brat. Be grateful that I need you alive," she said as her voice became distorted. The very sound of her voice was painful to listen to.

Sirzechs appeared behind "Akeno". He coated his hand in the Power of Destruction and threw a punch to the back of "Akeno's" head. She lazily raised one finger and blocked Sirzechs' punch. "Akeno" quickly turned around and drove a darkness coated fist into Sirzechs's torso.

Sirzechs gasped and coughed up an obscene amount of blood splattering some on "Akeno". Her eye twitched as she delivered a devastating uppercut to Sirzechs sending him crashing into a floating island.

"**Celsius Cross Trigger!**" "Akeno" looked down at her legs as ice began to encase her entire body. Everyone watched with bated breath as the girl was entombed in ice. The ice tomb cracked and shattered. "Akeno" stood there with a smirk on her face. She disappeared and reappeared in front of Serafall. Serafall jumped back a little. She suddenly found herself being clotheslined by "Akeno" sending her crashing into the ground.

"Onee-sama!" Sona yelled.

Ajuka prepared the **Kankara Formula** and Falbium used his **Absolute Defense**. "Akeno" suddenly appeared in front of the two and delivered a devastating kick to Ajuka's neck. A sick crunch was heard as Ajuka was embedded into one of the floating islands. Falbium readied himself as "Akeno" threw a punch towards his face. He brought his arms up in a crossguard. The next thing he noticed was a pain. An intense pain.

Falbium screamed his pain as both his forearms were crushed underneath the force of "Akeno's" punch. She raised her palm sent Falbium flying into a distant part of the forest.

"Now that, that's out of the way. Let's talk, First," "Akeno" said as she hovered in front of a bound Issei.

"Who are you? What happened to Akeno!?" Issei roared at her. "Akeno" smiled at him.

"You know who I am. After all, you did visit my sisters and brother in Germany. I'm pretty sure they mentioned me. As for Akeno, well, she's not home right now," "Akeno" said.

The other members of Eden Squad, who had been paying attention to their conversation, froze at the implication of her words. Vali sensed their fear and surprise.

"Y-you!" Irina stuttered in fear.

"Akeno" turned to her with an insane smile.

"Yes," she said.

"Beelzebub..." all the members of Eden Squad thought simultaneously.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 659**

**File Name: Beelzebub**

**GPS Ranking: Previous ranking changed due to new information; Current GPS Rank: SSS-Rank Deity Class Demon**

**File: Beelzebub is a Prince of Hell and represents the Sin of Gluttony. He is noted to be the most fanatic and insane of the Princes. As the Sin of Greed, Beelzebub can absorb all manner of energy attacks and add it to his own reserves of power. Currently, there is no known limit as to how much energy he can absorb. Beelzebub is the creator of the artificial cambion known as the Special Children.**

**Notes:**

**Cornelius D'Arc: Beelzebub is a high profile target and one of the most dangerous entities in Creation. Absolutely, do not engage this being at any cost. You will die.**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 678**

**File Name: Gremory**

**GPS Ranking: Previous rank was due to calculated estimates based on the footage acquired at Sioux Falls. It has been changed due to new information present; Current Estimated GPS Ranking: EX-(x2) Ultimate Class Demon**

**File: One of the top operatives that Beelzebub has under his employ. She is the demon for which the Devil Clan Gremory is named after. Gremory is usually seen being with surrounded by a shroud of darkness.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 679**

**File Name: Sitri**

**GPS Ranking: Ranking changed due to the previous ranking being established due to lack of information; Current Estimated GPS Ranking: EX-(x2) Ultimate Class Demon**

**File: Sitri is one of Beelzebub's top operatives. He boasts an immense level of strength. Beelzebub is usually seen wearing red scarlet armor with a violet gem in the chest plate.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 900**

**Creature Name: Bijuu**

**File: Bijuu are nine immensely powerful tailed ****daiyōkai. They go as follows: Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, Hachibi, and Kyuubi. The number of tails apparently does not contribute to strength as Kuroka is currently the weakest of the Bijuu and Yasaka being the strongest. The concept of a group of the Nine Bijuu were formed by the Kyuubi no Kamigitsune, Inari.**

**GPS Ranking: Varies from S-Rank Ultimate Class to D-Rank Deity Class**

**Prey: N/A**

**Weaknesses: Various**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: With the death of Tsurara Kurokami, Kuroka Toujou is currently the new unofficial Nibi no Bakeneko.**

**End File**

* * *

**I hope you liked this chapter and the amount of suffering the boys got. Things are finally moving forward with the story. Also, I know I'll get some comments about it being too OP to summon Ddraig and Tiamat to help in battle but Issei can only summon them for six minutes before he has to wait for an entire week before being able to do it again so I hope that's a good limiter. Even then, Ddraig and Tiamat wouldn't be much of a match against Beelzebub so yeah! Also, I hope you like Full Moon Artemis's personality. It's a bit different from regular man-hating Artemis. Please remember to review! I like to read them so the longer the better. Remember, the best comments will make it to the front of the next chapter. Remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!**


	21. The Special Children

**Pyre: Sorry if this chapter seems shorter than usual but it is, in my opinion at least, a heavy chapter so... yeah. Also, I forgot to mention that the Bijuu are from Naruto and no, they are not the same ones from Naruto. Just their titles were taken and Kuroka is the new unofficial Nibi no Bakeneko. Anyway, I decided to put the best comments at the end as I figured you all want to read the chapter so let's go! Oh, mysterious woman who appeared in my room again!**

**Mysterious Woman: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

**Pyre: Thanks for not killing me.**

**Mysterious Woman: I will see Issei-chan soon right?**

**Pyre: Yeah.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Unity Stadium, February 22, 2020, 6:15 PM; Current Time: 4 minutes til Midnight**

* * *

Eden Squad, except for Issei who was currently bound, sat there paralyzed in fear. No, fear was the wrong word to use for what they were feeling. The feeling was hard to describe but if one of them had to put it into words. It would be pure, unadulterated terror.

Beelzebub took in their looks of utter terror and reveled in it. He turned his gaze back to Issei, who just looked at him with a mix of shock and fear.

"Well, then First. Shall we go?" Beelzebub said as he snapped his fingers. "You and your friends will be late for orientation after all."

Issei's eyes widened when he saw a bound Lily and Ichika.

"Big Brother!" Lily yelled out in fear with tears streaming down her face. Ichika tried to use his powers to break the darkness bonds.

"You bastard! Let them go!" Issei yelled as his eyes turned black. He unleashed a telekinetic wave that shook their surroundings. Gremory narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on Issei.

Beelzebub turned his gaze back to Issei. His toxic yellow eyes bore deep into Issei's black and green ones.

"No," Beelzebub said as he motioned for Sitri to pick the two up. "I believe we don't need the peanut gallery anymore," Beelzebub said as he raised his palm. A black ball of lightning formed in front of his hand. The lightning dispelled as he raised his other hand. A small black orb formed in front of his palm. A massive bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck Beelzebub.

Suddenly, the lightning shrank and twisted before being fizzling out of existence. Beelzebub looked up to see Baraqiel hovering above him.

"Beelzebub. Release my daughter right now!" Baraqiel yelled as he formed another massive bolt of lightning.

"If it isn't old Barry! Long-time no see! You got a nice daughter here. Her body is so nice and tight like a virgin!," Beelzebub mocked. He floated up to meet him at the same level. He smirked using Akeno's face. Baraqiel shook with intense rage. How dare this demon possess his daughter!

"Hey, Baraqiel. You need help with that?" Indra dropped into the sky behind Beelzebub. He turned his head lazily to look at the God-King.

"And you are?" Beelzebub asked him.

"Indra. Remember it," he said as he pointed Vajra at him. Beelzebub quirked his eyebrow.

"Why should I-" Beelzebub found himself hurtling towards a mountain. He crashed into the mountainside destroying it immediately.

Gremory and Sitri watched with extreme boredom as they watched Indra smack Beelzebub into a mountainside. Sitri suddenly turned around to see Ambriel appear in front of him swinging her sword. He raised his halberd blocking her sword creating a deadlock. Ambriel narrowed her eyes and delivered a devastating kick to his side sending him crashing into the cliffside. Gremory raised her hand as sharp tendrils poured forth from her shroud. The tendrils impacted a light shield. She narrowed her eyes as she narrowly dodged a katana aimed at her face. Gremory waved her hand causing her attacker to fly back and land next to Ambriel. The raccoon angel. Gremory smiled.

"Well, little raccoon, miss me," she said as she hovered in front of them. Risa narrowed her eyes and moved faster than the eye can see reappearing in front of Gremory. Gremory formed a darkness spear and sent it to Risa. Risa weaved her body out of the way of the spear and slashed Gremory with her sword.

Gremory screamed in pain as a large wound appeared on her shoulder going down to her chest. The pain forced her to drop Issei and release the others. A red and orange energy flickered inside the wound before dark energy poured forth and began to heal the wound.

_An Enochian weapon?_ Gremory glared at the sword-wielding tanuki angel.

"Issei! Get out of here! It's you three they're after!" Ambriel yelled as she released all ten of her wings.

Issei nodded and broke the bindings on Ichika and Lily. "Let's go! Everyone else! Retire!" Issei yelled. They all nodded and called for the system to retire them.

"What? Nothing's happening!" Ingvild said as she saw herself still in the arena, "The System isn't retiring us!"

"You mean we're stuck in here!?" Rias said.

Indra crashed into the ground in front of them. He used Vajra to stand up. Next, to him, Baraqiel impacted the ground as well. Eden Squad, Vali Team, and the remainder of the Bael-Sitri-Gremory alliance team all looked up and saw Beelzebub hovering above them. He raised his hand slightly and they were all thrown backward and pinned to wherever they landed. Beelzebub looked at Issei as he threw his arms in front of Lily and Ichika ready to defend them at a moment's notice. Suddenly, a silver arrow flew from the trees to Beelzebub's head. Beelzebub caught it and inspected it.

Artemis and the other members of the Greco-Roman Pantheon that were participating came running out of the bushes.

"Not more of you," Beelzebub said slightly annoyed. Artemis took a step forward with her bow aimed at him. He narrowed his eyes.

"One more step and you'll need a vacuum to bring the Red Dragon Emperor back to the others," Beelzebub threatened, making Artemis halt in her tracks. She glared intensely at his smirk.

"Good girl," he turned back to Issei. "Well, as fun as it would be slaughtering everyone in this arena. I'm afraid we're behind schedule so chop-chop!" Beelzebub opened a portal and lifted Lily using telekinesis and prepared to throw her through.

"WAIT!" Issei yelled making Beelzebub stop. He turned his gaze back to him.

"Let her, Akeno, and Ichika go!" Issei said summoning Ascalon.

"Or what?" Beelzebub said.

"Or I'll kill myself!" Beelzebub narrowed his eyes slightly at Issei's claim. "Not convinced. I heard from your little friends that someone called the Firstborn wants me alive and I can only imagine what will happen to you if they see that I'm dead," he said as he raised Ascalon and pointed it to his chest.

"Fine kid. I'll let the two go but not this girl. She'll be my vessel until I feel that she's served her purpose and I throw her out like a used condom," Beelzebub said giving Lily back to Issei.

"What do you want in exchange for her?" Issei said with sweat dripping from his forehead. Two hostages down. One to go.

"What could you possibly give me in exchange for this girl?" Beelzebub said. He was right. He had nothing to give. Trying to find something to save Akeno, Issei's mind ran through a million possible ideas. None of them worked. Suddenly, Issei thought of something. He had seen it and learned it while researching the seals. He read that it would work on demons and now was the perfect time to try it. After that, he could use the Colt to kill Beelzebub once he was out of Akeno's body. Issei sent a silent message to Artemis, who nodded. She signaled for her hunters to load their bows. Artemis loaded her bow and fired. Beelzebub immediately caught the arrow again and turned around to see a hail of arrows heading for him. He put his hand out stopping the onslaught in mid-air.

"You know that doesn't work twi-!" Beelzebub froze when he heard it.

"_Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii,"_ Issei began to chant. Beelzebub felt an intense headache. The devils were released from his telekinetic grip and covered their ears.

"_Omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te... cessa decipere humanas creaturas,"_ Issei said as he kept going. Beelzebub fell to his knees eyes flickering between yellow and violet.

"_Eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare... Vade, Satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciæ, hostis humanæ salutis... Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei; contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine... quem inferi tremunt... Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine. Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos!"_ Akeno's head wrenched backward as her mouth opened up. A funnel of black smoke came flying out of Akeno's mouth. After the smoke left, she fell to the ground unconscious. Issei watched as the smoke solidified into a man. He had dark skin and long yellowish-white hair with spiky bangs. He wore dark clothing and a long black cloak. His eyes were like the other Princes he had met. A poisonous shade of yellow. He sat there in the air dazed for a second. Wasting no time, Issei formed a magic circle and pulled the Colt out of the dimensional storage and fired it at Beelzebub.

Beelzebub shook his head and opened his eyes. He heard a gunshot and immediately felt a pain in his right leg. He saw it flickering orange and saw a gunshot wound. He turned his gaze back to Issei, who was aiming the Colt at him again to fire another shot. He raised his hand causing the Colt to fly right into it.

"Nice try but you need to work on your aim," Beelzebub said. He appeared in front of Issei and palm struck him in the jaw, sending him crashing through several trees.

Issei looked up as he felt an intense pain in his jaw. A foot drove him back into the ground.

"I wish I could kill you. But I can't. For that, I'll kill the other two and your friends in front of you. I wonder what face your little angel whore will make when I cut her open slowly and painfully" Beelzebub said looking down at Issei.

"Don't you fucking touch them or I'll-!" he roared.

"Or you'll what? Hmm? Can't kill yourself now can you?" he said with his face hovering over Issei's. Issei suddenly saw Beelzebub get thrown through several trees as a figure punched him in the face.

"Get up Ddraig," it was Ophis. Issei got up as he saw Ophis stare down Beelzebub, who was rubbing his jaw.

"The Infinity Dragon," he said.

"I will not let you take him," Ophis said as she stood in front of Issei. She fired a massive beam of black energy straight at Beelzebub, who narrowly dodged it to avoid getting hit. Beelzebub.

"I was told you'd be here so I got a present for you! One, you're well-acquainted with!" Beelzebub said as he pulled out a knife coated in red and black liquid. Issei felt chills run down his spine. Samael's poison. Beelzebub threw the knife at Ophis causing her to dodge. He took this time to fire the Colt at her forcing Ophis to jump upwards to dodge the bullet. Seeing that Ophis was now a good distance from Issei, Beelzebub grabbed Issei and teleported away from the arena.

Seeing that they were gone, Ophis landed and slammed her fist into the ground in rage causing the entire city to shake.

Gremory and Sitri, who were fighting Risa and Ambriel, sensed Beelzebub teleport away. Nodding to each other, the duo released a combined telekinetic push sending the two angels skidding backward. The two took this chance to teleport as well.

Risa and Ambriel sheathed their weapons when they felt the ground tremor. They ran over to the others to see if they were alright. Risa breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that they were all relatively unharmed by the demons.

"You! Twilight Healing Wielder! Help me heal everyone," Ambriel said as she knelt next to Baraqiel and began to heal him.

"Thank you niece," Baraqiel said to Ambriel. Asia began to heal everyone when they heard footsteps behind them. Indra immediately grabbed Vajra and Artemis notched an arrow onto Tauropolos. They lowered their weapons when they saw it was just Ophis.

Ophis walked into the clearing with a dejected and angered mood. She looked up and saw Eden Squad and walked over to them.

"He's gone. Beelzebub has him," she said to them. Their eyes widened in terror at her words. Irina immediately shot up and walked up to her.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM!?" she yelled forgetting who she was talking to. Ophis stared back at her and said.

"He had Samael's Poison and the Colt. Used them to distract me," she said. Irina's entire body trembled before she fell to her knees and began to sob lightly. Mitsuki walked over to her and brought her into a hug.

"Grab the Satans. We need to convene an emergency meeting," Indra said. They all nodded and went to do their respective duties.

Irina felt a tug on her cloak. She turned and saw Lily crying. Her heart broke even more and embraced the little girl. She began to stroke her hair and whispered soothing words.

"We'll get him back. I swear," she said with a flame burning in her eyes.

* * *

**Ars Nova, February 22, 2020, 9:50 PM**

* * *

The entire room was in an uproar. Leaders began to yell at each other for the events trying to pin the blame on someone. The Rookie Four, Team Half-Blood, Vali Team, and Eden Squad sat there trying to keep out of the way of the arguing Deity Class Beings.

"Well if you had told the rest of us what was happening, we could have prevented it! Now one of the hottest men in the room is Chaos knows where!" Aphrodite screeched.

"Well you stupid whore, what would you have done huh? Seduce him? From what we witnessed, this Beelzebub can kill us all without any effort. Indra was the strongest god out on the field and he still got his ass handed to him!" Osiris fired back.

Grayfia and Azrael sighed at all the screaming. Their fellow leaders sat there with irritation growing on their faces. It had been two hours since they started and they just kept yelling. Her patience evaporated and she snapped. Azrael stood up and slightly waved her hand causing the entire room to go deathly silent. The gods, angels, and devils that were yelling found that no sound was coming from their mouth no matter how hard they tried to scream.

"You done?" Azrael said with her arms crossed. They all nodded and she gave them back their voices. "Now, let's do this like civilized people. At 6:55 PM today, Issei Hyoudou was kidnapped by the Prince of Hell, Beelzebub. This statement was given to us by Ophis, the Infinite Dragon Goddess," Azrael gestured to Ophis who sat at the table with Eden Squad, Vali Team, Team Half-Blood, and The Rookies.

"Beelzebub, in the process, incapacitated the Four Satans. They are currently recovering at a rapid pace thanks to Raphael, Sitri House, and Phenex House. My twin, Azazel's, theory checked out seeing as Issei was a Miasma user. As to why he's doing this, we don't know. So I brought someone in who has his own guess as to why. Here with me now is the Leader of the Blacklight American Chapter, Cornelius D'Arc, who will explain his own theory as to why people like Issei are being taken," Azrael stepped down and let Cornelius take the stage.

"Thank you, Lady Azrael. As you may or may not know, I am Cornelius D'Arc, Leader of the American Chapter of Blacklight. I'm here today to tell you my theory as to why the demons are taking these so-called 'Special Children'. To start off, we have evidence revealing that all the mothers of these children have had an interaction with Beelzebub in the past in the form of deals. Their medical records, which we have acquired, show that all of these women have had problems in conceiving children. My theory is that they all made some sort of deal with Beelzebub and Beelzebub, through unknown means, gave all of these children Miasma.

"Now as to why they are being hunted down, intelligence reports from various portions of the country including from one of our own bases in Nevada popularly known as Area 51, show an increase of demon activity around a large area in Wyoming. It's been happening for the past couple of months. It could be where they are but no demon has been able to enter it. After viewing aerial shots of the area, we found this," Cornelius put up an image of the area where the demons were located. Five locations on it were marked. He clicked edit and selected the red pen and drew a line from each of the five points he marked forming an upside-down pentagram.

The Archangels and Elder Gods' eyes grew wide.

"A barrier. A massive one at that. We had one of our own go and inspect it. It's a railroad system that leads to five churches. The rails are engraved with high powered Enochian Runes designed to keep something inside and the demons out," he said.

"Isn't that where he...?" Gabriel asked him.

"Yes, but our operative was killed before he could get past the rails to confirm it. Our guess is that they need the children to get what's inside. I'm thinking that these children were intended to be weapons to use to break into the area," Cornelius said. Gabriel nodded.

"Do you know what is inside?" Athena asked him. He nodded.

"Unfortunately no, we can only guess but this is where one of our previous chapter leaders, Samuel Colt, was last sighted along with a legion of demons on his trail," he said. The room descended into hushed whispers at the new information.

"Okay, so right now. Our main objective is to find Issei. We find Issei, we find Beelzebub and all the children he's taken," Grayfia said. She was stepping in as the temporary Satan of the Underworld since the Four were in the hospital at the moment. Everyone nodded.

"I shall send Artemis to help your strike force find Issei," Zeus said. Grayfia nodded gratefully. "I believe we should dismiss the meeting as to get started," Zeus said gaining nods of approval from everyone else.

After everyone left, Cornelius walked up to the Archangels who had grim faces. "You know what's inside don't you?" he asked. Grayfia looked at them curiously.

"Yes," Michael said, "We do."

"Inside is a doorway. Samuel came to us in 1861 to seek help in building that barrier," Uriel said to him brushing his hair out of the way.

"A doorway to where?" Grayfia decided to ask.

Azazel looked at her with a grim expression.

"A doorway to Hell."

* * *

**Unknown Location, February 23, 2020, 2:00 AM**

* * *

Issei's eyes snapped open. He immediately got up and looked around. He was in an abandoned old classroom. The room looked like it could have been in better shape. The ceiling looked like it could cave at any minute, the wallpaper was peeling off exposing the drywall behind it. Parts of the drywall were removed allowing Issei to see the pipes and a couple of rats moving around. Issei walked out of the classroom and made his way around the hallway. Seeing the exit sign, Issei walked outside the building.

"Where the hell am I?" he said looking around. He saw that he was in a neighborhood. Issei walked around looking at the houses, knocking at the doors. "Where the hell is everybody?" Issei suddenly heard banging on the doors of a nearby shed. He immediately ran over and saw that it was locked. He broke using his enhanced strength. A woman with brown hair and hazel eyes wearing the Kuoh Academy Uniform fell out. Her hair looked disheveled and her clothes were dirty but Issei recognized her immediately.

"Murayama!" Issei said causing her to look up. She teared up and hugged him crying on his shoulder.

"Issei! I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm so glad to see you!" she said as she laugh-sobbed at the same time. Issei nodded shocked that she was even here. After a few minutes, they separated and Murayama sat down next to Issei with a healthy blush on her face.

_I just hugged the biggest pervert in school! But still, it felt nice,_ she thought.

"What are you doing here?" Issei asked bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked at him and began to tell her tale.

"I was walking home from practice with Katase a few days ago. We said goodbye at our usual spot. I had just turned the street after saying by to Katase and then I saw this woman with violet hair lying on the street. I thought she was in trouble so I ran over to try and help her when someone hit me from the back. Before I knew it, I was being carried by a man with red hair and the woman opened some sort of portal or something. Then I passed out and woke up here where you found me," Murayama said hugging her arms. Issei narrowed his eyes at the description she gave.

_Gremory. Sitri. But that means that,_ Issei's eyes grew wide at the realization. "Murayama, have you noticed anything strange things that happened to you lately?," Issei asked her. She tilted her head in confusion. How did he know exactly?

"Strange how?" she asked as if she already knew the answer. Issei decided it would be better to demonstrate rather than explain.

Murayama watched as Issei's eyes turned black and he opened his palm causing a small black flame to manifest over his hand. She jumped back in surprise. Issei closed his fist extinguishing the flames and his eyes went back to normal.

"You- you have powers too?" she asked meekly. Issei nodded. "When did it start for you?" she asked. Issei explained the existence of the supernatural to her and the fact that the Student Council and the ORC are all devils and that he was one as well. She took it better than Issei expected though she kind of freaked out when he mentioned that Kiba and Mitsuki were devils and that their former chemistry teacher, Azazel, was a fallen angel which made sense when she thought about it seeing as he was a massive pervert.

"Wait was?" she asked catching the was when Issei explained how he was a devil under Rias's service.

"Devils use these things called Evil Pieces to turn other races into Devils so they can repopulate their species. I was turned into one after a Fallen Angel named Raynare killed me on our first date. I removed them after something happened between me and the ORC. It nearly killed me too," he said. "Guess my love life sucks huh? I guess everyone at Kuoh was right. A pervert like me doesn't deserve happiness," he confessed. Murayama looked at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"Issei…" she said feeling guilty as she too said those words at one point. He smiled and let out a hollow laugh.

"You know, if Irina heard me say that again, she would sit me down tell me that I'm important to her, Rossweisse, and Kuroka. Can't have that again," he said as he stared off. He stiffened when he felt five Miasma signatures heading his way. "Murayama, stay behind me," he said as he summoned Boosted Gear. Or at least tried to.

_What?_ Issei thought as he kept failing to summon Boosted Gear. "_Ddraig? Tiamat?"_ Issei asked.

**[We're here partner. Something's preventing us from lending you power]** Ddraig said.

**|I'm afraid you'll have to go at this alone Issei|** Tiamat said. Issei nodded and his eyes turned black. A sword made of pure darkness manifested in his hand.

"Come out I know you're there!" Issei yelled. Five people came out of the bushes. One was a man with black hair and brown eyes came out of the bushes of the house with his hands raised.

"Woah Woah! We were just wondering if there were other people here. We seem to be the only ones in town!" he said. Issei lowered the sword making it vanish. He saw four other people come out. A woman with black hair and grey eyes, a man with black hair and brown eyes, another man with brown hair and violet eyes, and a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes all walked out of the bushes. Most of them seemed to be around their age with Lance and Tsukune being slightly older.

"Hey, I'm Tsukune. Tsukune Aono. You two are?" he asked in English. Issei remained on guard.

"Issei. This is Murayama," he replied in English gesturing to her.

"Okay… this is Mary Devereux, she's the daughter of some mayor in France. The guy over there is Kenneth Cho. He's from South Korea. The man with the purple eyes is Lance McCarthy from Scotland, and the blonde is Jennifer Smith from the US," he introduced them all.

"Do any of you know why they put us here?" Mary asked with a thick French accent.

"I told you. Probably a government experiment," Lance said in a Scottish accent.

Issei shook his head causing Lance to look at him.

"Wot? Ya gotta better idea ya posh prick?" Lance asked.

"Demons. They put us here," everyone except for Murayama and Tsukune laughed at his idea.

"Demons. Demons he says. Yer crazy lad!" Lance said as he laughed.

Issei shook his head at them. Oh, who was he kidding? If the situation were reversed, he would act just like them. Issei suddenly went on guard as he looked up at a massive dark cloud in the sky. A voice was then heard in all their heads.

"Welcome! I see you've all met. My name is Beelzebub and I am the one who put you here. You are all here because you all have a special talent making you all very special children," the voice said.

"Beelzebub, you bastard! Why can't I summon the Boosted Gear!?" Issei yelled.

"You don't have to yell I was getting to that. You are here because you survived and in the end, only one of you will walk out alive!" Beelzebub said.

Everyone froze.

"What do you mean by that?" Issei asked.

"Let's get onto the rules!" Beelzebub ignored Issei's question.

"Rule 1: No Sacred Gears!

"Rule 2: No one may leave the town! Anyone caught trying to leave will be brutally killed.

"Rule 3: Only one person can live. In order to survive, everyone else must die! Any questions? None? Great! I do have one question. Are you all as excited as I am?" he asked.

"Beelzebub, you sick fuck! I'm gonna kill you!" Issei roared unleashing a massive aura of darkness. The ground cracked underneath the very pressure of his aura and the house he was standing next to began to crumble.

"Good. Fan that fire in your belly Issei. You'll need it," he said as his voice disappeared along with the storm clouds.

"This is just some sick joke right?" Jennifer asked. "Right?" she asked. Everyone seemed unsure. "I have to leave. I'm supposed to be headed to Cancun with my boyfriend!"

"Well, let's just leave then," Lance said.

"I'm pretty sure he just said we couldn't leave," Kenneth said. Jennifer ignored him.

"Whatever. I'm leaving," she said as she walked away.

"Should we stop her?" Mary asked them.

"No. If the lass wants ta leave then let 'er," Lance said waving off her concern. Issei and Murayama just looked at the retreating girl's back.

"What do we do?" Kenneth asked.

"We find Beelzebub and kill him," Issei said.

"How?" Tsukune asked.

"I don't know. We just do," he said. Murayama felt nervous about the whole thing and looked to Issei.

"Issei?" Issei turned his gaze back to Murayama and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We're all gonna get out of this."

The group of six walked out of the school and began to explore the town. Every building seemed to be in disrepair. Issei spotted a grocery store and walked inside.

"Hey guys, I found some food!" Issei yelled. The six made their way over to Issei in a hurry. They all looked over his shoulders and saw what he was staring at.

"Spam?" Mary said as she stared at the cans. Murayama grabbed one and looked for the expiration date.

"February 24, 2020? These expire tomorrow," she said. Issei opened one.

"Might as well start cooking now," he said. Lance crossed his arms and looked at him with a strange look.

"Oh, and how are ye gonna do that genius?" Lance said as he quirked his eyebrow. Issei looked blankly at him and opened his palm producing a black flame. Everyone except Murayama took a step back as Issei extinguished his flame.

"H-how did you do that?" Mary asked as she pointed at Issei.

"It's why we're here," he said. "You were all kidnapped, right? Your families were all murdered," he said. Mary took a step back as her memories came back to her. Her father being bifurcated in front of her. Her mother being ripped limb from limb and her little brother being eaten by a red armored man. She fell to her knees and began to cry.

"Maman, papa, Pierre," she sobbed.

The others experienced the same memories. Tsukune walked over and punched a massive hole in the wall.

"Kaa-san, Tou-san," Tsukune said as his eyes turned red. Issei quirked his eyebrow.

"You a vampire?" Issei said. The minute he said that Mary, Murayama, Kenneth, and Lance all hid behind Issei.

Tsukune turned his tear stricken gaze to him. "Yeah. I was turned by my fiancé, Moka Akashiya. I was visiting my parents when two people broke in. Even in my Shinso state, they overpowered me and killed my parents," he said clenching his fist. The memories of a woman spinning his mother's severed head on her finger like a basketball in front of him coming to the forefront of his mind.

"I'm sorry," he said. Tsukune looked at him.

"What about you two?" he asked.

"They caught me while I was walking home from school," Murayama confessed. "I don't actually know if my parents are still here or…"

"Murayama, your parents think that you're dead. The investigation closed when they found traces of your blood on the street. I'm guessing it was from your head wound. Your mother, she…" Issei trailed off. Murayama's eyes grew wide. Tears started to stream down her eyes.

"Okaa-chan, no," she started to sob. Issei walked over to her and hugged her. She sobbed into his shirt.

"What about you?" Lance said wiping his tears. Issei looked away.

"In the world of the Supernatural, there was a tournament in which all the gods, monsters, angels, devils, vampires, you name it, fought. It was the finals and they invaded the games to get me and my sister as well as our friend. I managed to get my sister and friend to safety but I was taken. My adoptive brother tried to protect me but he got taken out. I don't know if he's still alive," Issei said looking down. _Sirzechs-nii_, Issei thought, remembering what Beelzebub did to Sirzechs.

They all stayed silent for a second before Issei spoke up once more.

"Well, I guess I'll cook the Spam now," he said as he grabbed a frying pan from one of the aisles. Issei grabbed a couple of planks that made up parts of the building and broke them. He set the logs on fire and began to cook the spam on the pan.

"You know you need cooking oil right?" Mary said.

"I know but there isn't any. Unless you can make oil with those powers that demon gave you," Issei said as he seared the Spam. She quirked her eyebrow.

"Powers?" she asked.

"Ya know, like my fire powers?" he said.

"We have powers?" Lance said walking over with his hands behind his head.

"Yeah. Before you got abducted, you notice anything strange happening to you? Flickering or exploding lights? Things you want flying towards you?" Issei nonchalantly said. The two looked at him weirdly.

"How did you know?" Lance asked.

"A friend of mine described the same things when he awoke his powers and the same thing happened to my little sister when she was training to control hers," Issei said as he removed the Spam slices and motioned for Murayama to hand him some plates. She walked over to one of the aisles and grabbed some paper plates. As they all started to eat, an ear-shattering scream rang throughout the entire town. The six looked at each other and ran towards the source of the screaming.

They made their way to the outer regions of town and found something horrifying. Jennifer's mutilated body was found on the ground. Her arm was hanging on a tree. Her torso was ripped open with her intestines splayed out all over the ground. Her head was hanging from one of an old windmill with her face frozen in horror. Issei walked over to her torso and put his hand over the torso. His eyes turned black and he sensed traces of miasma similar to the ones on the corpse from Alpirsbach.

"Hellhounds," Issei said. The other five looked at him.

"Hellhounds?" Kenneth asked.

"Demon dogs, basically," Issei said as he saw the paw prints on the ground. "Looks like he has them patrolling the town to kill anyone trying to get out," he said as he saw the tracks go into the woods. Issei fired a blast of pure dark energy at the sky. It exploded in midair revealing a barrier.

"Can't fly out either," he said. "We're stuck here," he said.

"So you're saying we have to…" Tsukune said.

"No, we head back to the supermarket. Sleep then think of a plan of escape so we can all get out of here," Issei said walking back to the store. The others followed him.

It was dark when Issei and the others got back. They all decided to sleep around a fire Issei made and used a buddy system to go to the bathroom. The buddies were Issei and Tsukune, Murayama and Mary, and Lance and Kenneth.

Issei sat watching the fire and heard the howls of the hellhounds patrolling the roads leading out of town as well as the forest. He heard the crunching of footsteps behind him and turned to see Lance.

"Hey, it's my shift," he said. Issei nodded and walked off. He laid down next to Murayama, who looked as if she was having a bad dream. Issei stroked her hair and she calmed down. He got down on his cardboard mat and went to sleep.

* * *

_Issei woke up inside an empty supermarket. "Murayama? Tsukune? Mary? Lance? Kenneth? Where the hell are you guys!?" Issei said as he got up to look around for the others who had inexplicably gone missing._

"_Where indeed?" Issei flipped around and saw Beelzebub looking at him with his yellow eyes. Issei reared his fist and jumped at Beelzebub only to phase through him. Issei landed behind him glaring._

"_Aww, don't make that face. This is just a dream. It's why you can't hit me. Come, let's go for a walk," Beelzebub said walking out of the store with his cape billowing behind him. Issei followed him glaring holes into the back of his head. Beelzebub cocked his head to look at Issei._

"_You seem awfully quiet. I hope it's not my bad breath. I had some shrimp and I forgot to brush on the way to your dream. Either that or you're mad about the whole possessing your ex and taking your friend and adopted sister hostage. Or the time, I nearly killed the fake Lucifer or that other time I almost killed your friends and girlfriends," Beelzebub said in a mocking tone._

"_I am going to rip you apart and hang you by your entrails," Issei said rage coursing through him._

"_Well, when you wake up, give it your best shot sport."_

"_Where are we?"_

"_I'd worry less about where you are and more about how you'll survive."_

"_Or what? Gonna kill me. I'm right here. Give it your best shot."_

"_What? No. I'm trying to help you. I can see what they all see in you. My siblings I mean. You're the one I'm rooting for to win this death match."_

"_What makes you think I'll participate?"_

"_Oh, you will. I'm counting on it. After all, you want the little kendo girl to live right?"_

_Issei clenched his fist at his words._

"_What do you want?" Issei asked._

"_Ah, the big what?" Beelzebub said as he spread his arms in a grand gesture. "I'm looking for forces. Troops if you will."_

"_Then why make us kill each other?" Issei asked. Beelzebub smirked._

"_Because I only need one. I already have an army and it will get bigger. But what I need right now is a leader. A leader to lead this army in this oncoming war. I need the best and brightest of you crazy kids to help me finish what I started sixty-five million years ago. Honestly, I'm surprised you never guessed. After all, Blacklight gave you all those reports of the mothers who wished for children."_

"_There were others!?"_

"_Yes, there were others but they were too weak. Forget about them and let's just focus on you. Since you're the horse I'm betting on, I already let you in on the inside scoop. VIP knowledge if you will."_

"_Why me?"_

"_Because you're smart, strong, well-trained thanks to your time as a devil."_

"_Why thank you," Issei said sarcastically. A thought came to Issei's mind. A thought that bugged him. "Why not my twin? She's just as strong as me. Why doesn't she have these powers?"_

"_Because it was never about her. It was always you. It's always been about you." _

_Issei froze at his words. Beelzebub was his confused face._

"_Well, allow me to show you then," he said snapping his fingers. Issei blinked and he found himself in his house before the renovation._

"_This is our nursery," he said. Issei spotted the telltale white hair of Beelzebub. "What are you doing in our room?"_

"_Watch," was all Beelzebub said making Issei turn his attention back to the scene. Issei watched as Beelzebub grabbed a vial of blood and poured it into Issei's mouth. His expression changed into one of horror at the sight._

"_What the hell did you do to me?" Issei asked._

"_Better than mother's milk," Beelzebub said._

"_Where's my twin sister?" he asked as he watched the scene unfold. That was how he did it. Blood transfusion._

"_Most likely having her turn being fed by mommy. I memorized your nightly feeding schedules. You went first, she went second," Beelzebub said._

"_Why didn't you wait for her?" Issei asked._

"_Because that was the last vial she gave me."_

"_She?"_

"_Sorry, any personal information on the Princess is classified."_

"_Princess?"_

"_I'm afraid this conversation is over," Beelzebub waved his hand._

* * *

Issei's eyes snapped open as he was shaken awake by Murayama. She looked at him worried.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"4:45 AM," she said. Tsukune walked over to them with his fangs bared.

"Lance is missing," he said.

"Let's split up then. You and Mary search the west half of town and Murayama and I will look in the east. Kenneth, stay here in case he comes back," Issei said. The group nodded and the designated pairs left the store leaving Kenneth alone.

Issei and Murayama walked down the abandoned street. Murayama stuck close to Issei carrying a baseball bat they had found a few streets back.

"Hey, Issei. How did you learn to use your powers?" she asked.

"It just came naturally though, the rest of it came from a Dragon God," Issei replied as he scanned the area.

"You don't say. Mind teaching me?" Murayama asked. "If we're gonna have to fight our way out, you might as well teach me right?" she said. Issei looked at her with an amused smile and nodded. They spent their time searching and learning as Murayama got some control over her powers. Issei discovered that she could control light much like Irina. She could now lift small objects and move them a small distance from her before losing control but that was it. Their session was interrupted by a scream from the store. Issei and Murayama looked at each other and nodded immediately running back to the store.

The two met up with Mary and Tsukune and entered the store. Kenneth was lying on the ground with his throat ripped out and claw marks all over his chest. Next to him was Lance who was standing in front of a shadowy golem-like creature that was made out of the earth and had dark energy pulsing through its body. Lance turned to them and looked at them with an arrogant smirk and a crazy gleam in his black and violet eyes.

"What took you so long? The game's about to start."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 669**

**File Name: Special Children**

**GPS Ranking: Varies**

**File: Special Children are a group of individuals who seemingly possess the powers wielded by Demons. Special Children possess the energy of demons running through their bodies called Miasma. It was theorized by Azrael that these children were given Miasma at a young age through unknown means by the demon Beelzebub. As a result, Special Children possess the powers of demons.**

**End File**

* * *

**As promised, I shall post your best comments from the last chapter here and reply to them.**

**Emiya-Excalibur says:** **Excellent! really liking the story so far. And can I just say the fact that Lucifer's true form is basically King Ghidorah is just... all the yes. As someone that has watched Godzilla their whole life I whole heartily approve**

**You are the only person so far that noticed that Lucifer was King Ghidorah. From one Godzilla fan to another, I salute you!**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: That beatdown issei gave those 4 manwhores was glorious. Shame the demons decided to interrupt at the best part where rias was gonna get her ass torn up, and not in the way the slut liked. Now that those 4 are out, when will the girls get their discipline for what they did?**

**I'm glad you liked it. I was in my S mode when writing those scenes and no not the sexual S mode. The more evil S mode. As for what will happen to them, that would be a spoiler.**

**Scrumblenut says: HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, I have been waiting for Beelzebub to finally show himself. It makes it so much more satisfying when Issei and Eden Squad show their fear when the others basically had no idea. I can only imagine the horror they feel... Though, I guess I should probably stop being so damn crazy about this. I look forward to the next chapter. Take care.**

**First of all, let me say thank you. And second of all, I hope you liked Beelzebub's entrance and how he basically handed the Four Great Satans their asses to them on a silver platter. I do hope you liked this chapter though**.

**And finally, Sykartracer says: Well, this was fun. And it'll be interesting how Issei deals with a Full Moon Artemis. (Admittedly, I have no idea where the Full Moon Artemis comes from), but I'm kind of excited to see what she'll do. Although, I don't recall what flipped that switch, but I'm excited nonetheless. Especially when the First shows up.**

**I forgot to explain Full Moon Artemis. Sorry about that. So basically, Artemis' appearance and personality changes with the Moon. Since it is the end of February right now in the story and full moons happen at the end of a month, Artemis is currently in her full moon form. Her full moon form is more flirty and outgoing. She has another form called New Moon Artemis which basically makes her act like the embodiment of an anime little sister. That Artemis will appear soon.**

**Now, Murayama. She has demon powers hence why she was taken. I'm thinking of adding her to Eden Squad as the final member. I know I said Ingvild will be the final member but this seems too juicy to pass up. I'll let you know if I actually go through with it. Also, there's a poll up that will close when the next chapter goes up in a couple of days. Most likely, next Wednesday at 8 to 9 PM Pacific Standard Time. The poll is 'Should Murayama join Issei's harem as the last girl?" Also, I will shout out whoever can guess where I ripped the idea of them fighting a death game and Issei's conversation with Beelzebub from. So that's it for me. Remember, follow and fav if you enjoyed it. Leave your reviews in the review section. The best and probably longest one will make it onto the review reply in the next chapter. Also, for those of you who use Wattpad, I will post this story there if you prefer to use it instead of . Just remember, I will update on first and then there's a 24-hour delay before I update on Wattpad. I also changed the cover. Just tell me if you want it to go back to normal. As always, remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.~**


	22. The Hunger Games

**Pyre: Hello again! I'm back. I'm sorry I didn't post this yesterday. I spent all day at a Toyota dealership negotiating car prices. And guess what, you're looking at the brand new owner of a new Toyota 2019 Rav-4! WOOH! First car I bought! Took me junior year, senior year, and my freshman year of college to save up this much money for a new car! Anyway, before I start this chapter. I need to address a few things.**

**One: The Great Dragon and Great Red. A few of you said that "Great Red is the Apocalypse Dragon in DxD! Why the hell are you calling Lucy that!?" Okay, first of all, Great Red is still Great Red. That hasn't changed. Him being called the Apocalypse Dragon hasn't changed. But Great Dragon? No, I'm using the actual Book of Revelations for that one. My reason is that A) I feel that we need to call the Devil something on this site other than Bat or Crow so why not refer to the biblical title? Dragon or Serpent. It sounds cooler and more menacing that being called the Great Snake or something. And B) unless you want Great Red to suddenly become "evil" even though he's more of a neutral character that couldn't care less about everything else then find another fic. I like Great Red. I really do but him fitting the role of Apocalyptic Destroyer Thing wouldn't really work for the plot for those of you who haven't figured it out already. **

**Two: Ophis. I am one hundred percent allowed to give Ophis emotions okay. I don't want her to be a two-dimensional character like her canon counterpart. She was either "I like Issei and the ORC" or "Die Baka Red!" even though she becomes more outgoing? as the series progresses. Anyway, Ophis feeling fear to me makes her more, I dunno, alive in some way. She just looks more mature to me and actually befitting her rank of a god if she feels other emotions. I mean, there's no rule on this site that says Ophis is not allowed to be scared or feel other things right?**

**Three: Power Scaling. I know a few chapters ago, I said that the Archangels in their primes were stronger than Great Red and Ophis combined. Please know that right now that is not the case. Ophis can slap just one of them and completely take them out of commission. Them being the level of power they were before the Holy War won't happen for a very long time so for the next few seasons, Trihexa, Ophis, and Great Red will remain the "uncontested" champions of the Supernatural World if you don't count Abyss, Ophis's daddy, since he isn't really playing any part in this story. Also, the Gods, especially the Hindu Gods. I AM NOT NERFING THEM. Let me tell you this as it isn't technically a spoiler. Shiva is a Universe Buster. I did not nerf him. In fact, I buffed him because, in canon DxD, the highest level of power for the Gods seems to be country to continent busters with Ophis, Great Red, and Trihexa being Planet Busters! I buffed them all if the fact that an interdimensional war that spanned the entirety of Creation that is always being mentioned wasn't enough. And that's the Elder Gods and the older generation angels only. Gods like Osiris, Kali, and Indra will be weaker than them solely due to the fact that they are younger and did not fight in an interdimensional war that lasted 3 million years!**

**I think that's everything! Sorry about the rant. Good job to nm70512 for being the first to figure out that this death game is ripped off from Supernatural. Honorable mentions go to spartabreak16 and mir19! I went to SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) and saw the final panel for the show. Kinda pissed I didn't win the Impala. Anyway, so, yay us! This story reached 200 follows and 40,000+ views. I know that's not a lot compared to a bunch of other fics on this site for this series but the fact that you guys actually took the time to read my story makes me really happy! As a treat, I will answer three questions about myself that I will answer to those who ask in the form of PM's and review replies so review with your questions. Also, review the chapter in general. The questions, though, cannot be overly personal like "What's your SSID?" I'm not going to give out my SSID on the internet guys nor will I give away my address! One more thing before we start, the poll closed and you guys tied so I'll make a new one! It will be Artemis, Murayama, or both because I really like Murayama's character and I feel that she doesn't get enough screentime except for beating up Issei. I promise you this will be the last change to the harem. No more girls after this. I solemnly swear! So without further ado, let's get going. Oh, I have to warn you. You will hate me after this chapter.**

**Mitsuki: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release!**

**Pyre: *starts crying***

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Unknown Location, February 24, 2020, 5:05 AM, Current Time: 3 minutes and 45 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Lance stood there with a manic grin on his face. His black and violet eyes stared at them with an insane glint as a massive demonic golem stood behind him with blood on its claws. Issei and Tsukune sprung into action getting in front of the girls. Lance thrust his palm forward sending a telekinetic wave to the two. Issei retaliated with a wave of his own easily canceling out Lance's wave.

Issei looked down and saw an earth fist spring from the ground. He jumped off dodging the fist and landed next to Murayama. Next, to him, Tsukune wasn't so lucky as he was knocked back by the earth fist sending him into the building across the street.

**[Issei! You can't fight and defend those two at the same time even with the vampire!] **Ddraig warned him. Issei clenched his jaw as he saw Lance slam his hand into the ground. Earthen spikes rose from the ground to impale all of them. Issei reacted quickly and formed arms of darkness and grabbed Tsukune, Murayama, and Mary and flew into the sky.

"Issei, what do we do?" Tsukune asked as he saw Lance amass an army of demonic earth golems.

"We retreat. You and I can't fight all of them at once and defend the girls at the same time," Issei said.

"Issei! I can help!" Murayama yelled from the other arm. Issei shook his head.

"You've only had an hour of practice and that was only telekinesis. Lance seems to have at least several months of practice with his powers! Right now, we need to retreat and find a way out of here!" Issei said. "Tsukune! How good are you at controlling blood?"

The vampire looked at him curiously. Why did he ask that? "Why do you wanna know?"

"I need you to create smokescreen using blood mist!" Issei said as he created a shield of darkness. Tsukune nodded and slit his palm open using his sharpened nails. He willed a few droplets of blood to shoot forward. The droplets rapidly expanded and vaporized forming a red mist.

Issei looked at him gratefully and flapped his wings with great force propelling them at great speeds away from the supermarket.

Lance looked up as the mist faded and saw that they were gone. He screamed in rage and destroyed the supermarket with a ball of darkness.

"You can run but I will find you! And I'll kill all of you if it's the last thing I do!" Lance dispelled all of his golems and pulled out a picture of a girl. She had brown hair and light blue eyes. She wore a white green dress. "For you, Nancy," Lance said gripping the picture.

Issei landed several miles away in the cul-de-sac of an abandoned neighborhood on the other side of town. He released the three he was carrying and fell back on the ground.

"We're safe. For now," Issei sighed in relief.

Tsukune sat on the sidewalk next to him. Murayama and Mary both sat cross-legged on the ground.

"What now?" Mary asked. Issei looked up at the sky.

"Our only way out is up. We need to find a way to destroy that barrier," Issei said. "However, that barrier looks like it was made to withstand Deity Class power by my estimates."

"Deity Class? How the hell are we going to break it?" Tsukune asked.

"I'm sorry, Deity Class? As in God?" Mary asked. Issei nodded.

"Deity Class is a class that refers to beings who wield god class powers. That barrier was made to withstand someone on the level of the gods," Issei explained as he looked at the sky.

"What if we combine our powers? From what we know, you're at least Ultimate Class at the fullest extent of your powers. I'm an Ultimate Class in strength. Maybe us together can break the barrier," Tsukune offered. Issei looked down at the ground deep in thought. True, if they combined powers, they could be able to break the barrier but Lance would see it. However, this was currently their only chance of escape as in addition to the barrier surrounding town, hellhounds patrolled its borders.

"Up it is, but we'll need more power than us two," Issei looked to the girls. They blinked and looked at Issei. "I'll help you two tap into it. All we need is for you to tap into it and unleash it. The rest will come naturally," Issei told them. Mary nodded while Murayama began to focus her miasma into a ball of darkness.

* * *

**Gremory Estate, February 25, 2020, 7:30 AM**

* * *

Everyone sat in the main living room of the Gremory Household waiting for news on Sirzechs. Rias looked down in worry for both Issei and her older brother. She looked over to Eden Squad who were all sitting with hard, grim looks on their faces. She saw Irina holding a little girl with red hair on her lap. Lily, if she remembered correctly.

The doors opened and she saw her parents walk in with Sirzechs and Grayfia in tow. Sirzechs' right arm was in a sling and he had a bandage around his forehead. Sirezchs had a depressed look on his face while Grayfia's eyes were red-rimmed showing that she had been crying for a while.

"Nii-sama, are you.." Rias got up to ask.

"I'm fine Rias. I'm more worried about Issei than myself right now," Sirzechs said as he sat down on the couch. "Grayfia filled me in on the situation and what Azrael has in mind. That said, Eden Squad, Vali Team, Gremory Peerage, Sitri Peerage, Bael Peerage, come with me. Mother, Father, you may come if you wish."

Sirzechs walked out of the room followed by the rest of them up to his office. Sirzechs sat down at his desk and looked at them with Grayfia standing by his side.

"Since the others are still recovering, Grayfia is considered the acting Satan in our absence, however, before I go on leave, I will assign all of you one more mission. All of you will head to America in search of Issei. You will be accompanied by the Goddess, Artemis as America is currently under Greco-Roman Jurisdiction. Find him by any means necessary. If you encounter demons, notify the others. Do not engage alone," Sirzechs told them. They all nodded. "Good, Irina, we'll look after Lily while you and the others are gone," he said. Irina nodded and handed Lily off to Grayfia.

Zeoticus and Venelana stood off to the side watching them leave. Their gaze drifted to Irina. The angel had tried to kill Rias during the match and she, along with the Red Dragon Emperor's Twin and the Cat, radiated obvious hostility towards her and her peerage. Even the Valkyrie and her knight acted coldly towards her. What had brought on that change?

"Sirzechs?" Venelana asked as she looked at Irina's retreating figure.

"Yes, mother," he said as he sorted through some paperwork with the help of Grayfia with Millicas and Lily sitting on the floor next to them.

"Do you know why that angel is so hostile all of a sudden to our Rias?" she asked finally turning her violet eyes to her son. Zeoticus stood silent not wanting to get in between his wife and son.

Sirzechs sighed. He did not want to have this conversation right now with his mother. He looked to Grayfia for support. She only gave him a nod. Sirzechs rubbed his forehead with his good hand.

_I guess they had to find out eventually_, Sirzechs thought. Sirzechs set off on the grim task of explaining to his parents what had happened over the past couple of months. He told them about the messages, Issei's apparent suicide note, the photos of the girls with the boys, everything related to Rias and Issei. Zeoticus looked shocked. Rias cheated on Issei? His wife wasn't doing much better. Venelana had an expression of rage and shock on her face. Shock that her daughter was capable of something like this and rage at her actions. She was taught to be loyal to her lover. Infidelity was not tolerated in their family and harems had to be formed with the express permission of their spouses. Something Rias gave Issei.

"Sirzechs, you're lying to us. You have to be," Venelana said in denial.

"I wish I was," Sirzechs told them sadly.

* * *

**The United States, 8:45 AM**

* * *

Irina walked silently behind the others. Her mind was on one person and one person only. Issei.

_Is he alright? What if he's-_ Irina was snapped out of her thoughts by someone calling her name.

"Irina," she looked forward and saw Mitsuki looking at her.

Mitsuki looked at Irina and walked over to her. She put a hand on her shoulder and gave Irina a smile that was eerily similar to Issei's.

"Aniki will be fine. He's strong. And besides, we're going to find him, Rin," Mitsuki told her. She nodded feeling slightly better.

"You're right. I should have more faith in my boyfriend. Thanks, Mii-chan!" Irina said smiling. Mitsuki looked at her with a pout.

"Don't you start with that too!" she said indignantly.

"Hey!" they heard Artemis yell in the distance. "Stop your gagging of lolis and let's go!"

"Yes ma'am!" the two responded as they ran as fast as they could to catch up.

* * *

**Unknown Location, USA, Same Time**

* * *

Issei sneezed forcing Tsukune, Mary, and Murayama to stop what they were doing.

"You alright?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah, I think someone's talking about me," Issei said. "Right, how far are you guys along with the Miasma control?"

Tsukune held up a ball of darkness the size of a baseball and willed it to change shapes into a spiky ball that he then proceeded to throw at a tree. Upon impact, the spiked ball rapidly extended its spikes puncturing the tree completely turning it into a wooden version of swiss cheese.

"Huh, nice one," Issei complimented as he watched the spiky ball of destruction destroy the tree.

"Thanks. Any luck?" he asked. Issei shook his head. While they were training to bring out and control their miasma, Issei had tried to get a call out on the CC. All of his attempts were met with static but he kept trying anyway.

"No, I think we need another method," Issei said. The three looked at him. Mary pulled out her Samsung Galaxy S10.

"I don't have any signal," she said as she raised her phone above her head to try to get even just the smallest bit of signal.

"Me neither," Murayama told Issei and Tsukune.

"Wait, Tsukune, have you tried using that Shinso Blood Telepathy of yours yet?" Issei asked Tsukune. Tsukune gave him a blank stare. "What?" Issei asked. "Did I say something weird? I heard that mated Shinso can read each other's minds."

"You do know that that's a myth right?" Tsukune told him. "If I could do that, I would've done it hours ago."

Issei slumped down on the ground out of ideas.

"Wait, Issei, what about Mitsuki?" Murayama said.

"Yeah, what about her?" Issei wanted to know where she was going with this.

"You're twins right so…" Murayama nudged him to the right answer.

"Our twin telepathy? That's just something we do to mess with other people. We can't actually communicate telepathically," Issei said to her. They all looked down. That was their last attempt at communication with the outside world.

"Now what?" Mary asked. Issei felt a miasma signature heading their way.

"We need to go! Lance is heading here," Issei said as they took off. As they ran, a massive stone golem erupted from the ground in front of them. Issei coated his fist in Miasma and punched straight through the golem. Several more formed behind them and began to lumber slowly in their direction. Issei formed a ball of darkness and lobbed it at the swarm creating a large explosion that destroyed the entire portion of the neighborhood they were formerly in.

"Grab on!" Issei said as he formed wings. The others nodded and grabbed onto Issei as he took off and flew to another part of town.

Beelzebub watched from his perch on top of one of the steeples of the town cathedral. His hair fluttered in the breeze as his yellow eyes were filled with sadistic glee as he watched the children trying to kill each other. Well, one of them was trying.

"I see you're having fun," a voice called from behind him. He turned to see the white-haired woman hovering behind him.

"My princess," he bowed respectfully to the figure behind him.

"How goes the Games?" she said taking a seat right next to him.

"Issei has teamed up with the vampire and the other two against the Scot," Beelzebub said. "Don't worry. I'll split them up."

"Whether they kill each other or not is none of my concern, however, Issei must stay alive. I do not care if the other wins so long as he lives," she said.

"I mean no disrespect by this question but why are you so adamant that he be kept alive?" Beelzebub asked.

"My reasons are my own but just know this. I am rather fond of him," she said as her blue eyes stared at the flying form of Issei. Her blue eyes filled with nostalgia at the sight of him.

Beelzebub nodded at the words of the Princess. "My lady, the other factions are aware of our movements now. What shall we do?" he asked.

"Nothing for now. Proceed with the original plan. It's not like they can do anything at the moment," she said dismissing the threat of the other factions. The Princess stood up and spread her massive wings.

"Notify me when a winner has been decided," she said as she flew off at extreme speed vanishing from sight immediately. Beelzebub finally released a breath he didn't know he had been holding in.

Beelzebub chuckled and shook his head. "No wonder you're the strongest of us all. You are truly deserving of the title, Princess, Firstborn."

Issei crashed through the roof of a house and into a room. He was completely tired from carrying his three companions for hours. He panted as he lay on the ground. The other three had gotten up and ran over to him.

"Issei, you alright?" Murayama asked.

"Yeah *pant* just *pant* let me *pant* catch my breath," he said as his chest heaved up and down from him taking in large quantities of air.

"You do know I can fly right?" Tsukune stood over the tired Issei.

"Why *pant* didn't you say anything sooner?" Issei asked slightly irritated.

"Um, we were running from a psychotic demon man?" Tsukune replied.

"Fair point," Issei said as he closed his eyes.

"It's past noon. When are we doing this?" Mary asked looking at the position of the sun.

"Nighttime. Lance has to rest as well so we finish your training and blast through the barrier at night," Issei said.

"Why nighttime?" she asked again.

"Escape under the cover of darkness. That way, he doesn't see us. If we all leave, he wins and we escape and get help," Issei said. They all nodded at his plan. It wasn't foolproof but they preferred escaping over dying any day.

"Let's take up watch and do it in shifts," Murayama offered.

"Right, I'll take first then," Tsukune said.

"I'll get second," Mary said.

"I guess I'm third," Murayama said. Issei nodded acknowledging that he had the last shift.

"Okay, remember, we need to be able to break through that barrier so practice controlling it to the best of your ability," Issei said as he laid down. They nodded and all sat with Tsukune sitting by the window to take first watch.

The hours passed and the four rotated in and out of their shifts. The sun began to set in the distance and the howl of the demonic dogs that roamed the town as heard along with the screams of a deer. Issei winced at the sound before handing his shift off with Tsukune.

Issei sat down next to Murayama who was currently playing with a ball of light in her palm trying to get it to change shape much like how Tsukune did with the darkness they could all control. Mary was off to the side forming small claws on her fingers with her darkness. He smiled. They were progressing fast and it helped that the powers all came naturally. It was like once they tapped into the power, a switch went off inside their heads telling them the way to go. Of course, further applications of this power such as Umbrakinetic Flight or Elemental Constructs came with practice but the basics came as naturally as the air they breathed.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time.

6:59 PM

It was night time right now. Deciding that a talk with Ddraig and Tiamat was needed, he sat down and began to meditate. Issei found himself inside his mindscape in front of a red dragon sitting next to a blue dragon.

Ddraig looked down at his host and smiled. Tiamat smiled as well. The two shifted to their human forms and stood across from Issei.

**[What did you need Issei?]** Ddraig asked.

"Any luck with the Boosted Gear?" he asked.

**|No. It seems that the source of the interference seems to be the barrier. You break that you get the Boosted Gear back|** Tiamat said.

"Hmmm. This is going to be harder than I thought. The barrier seems to resist attacks from C-Rank Deity Class beings. I need to enter the Abyss Dragon Drive if I want any hope of breaking it," he said.

**|Or you could find the source|** Tiamat offered.

"Source?" he asked.

**[The barrier is either being cast from a source or has a caster. From the way, it's being continuously maintained without any change, I'd say it's using an object or location as an anchor or source. You find that source and destroy it, you take down the barrier]** Ddraig explained for his wife. Issei looked down deep in thought.

"The source has to be inside town then right? Just in case any of the factions stumble on the barrier?" Issei said. The two nodded impressed by Issei's intuition.

**[I'm surprised you figured it out so fast! Usually, you have either Irina or-OW!]** Ddraig rubbed the back of his head after Tiamat smacked him. She turned to Issei and smiled at him.

**|Don't worry dear whelp. Ddraig wasn't insulting your intelligence|** Tiamat said as she kept smiling at Issei.

Issei sweatdropped at the sight of the two. "Riiiiight. I'll get going now."

Issei opened his eyes and saw Murayama was currently taking watch. "Guys, Ddraig and Tiamat figured something out," Issei said. Mary raised her eyebrow.

"Who are Ddraig and Tiamat?" she asked.

"They're two dragons sealed inside my Sacred Gear," he said. Mary nodded and decided to ask what a Sacred Gear was later. "Alright, so every magic barrier has a source, an anchor or a caster right?"

Tsukune nodded and Murayama and Mary more or less understood his words.

"Right, so we have to find the caster or anchor and then do what?" Mary asked.

"We destroy it. Destroy the anchor or defeat the caster and the entire barrier goes down. We can escape after that," he said.

"Okay, then, where is it?" Tsukune asked.

"It's most likely inside the town," Issei said.

"Well, that narrows it down," Murayama said as she sat down on the carpet tossing a small piece of dust bunny across the room.

"Right, either way. We're not splitting up. Lance will take that chance to pick us off," Issei said. "We stick together."

"Alright, where would we find said anchor?" Mary said.

"It would have to be somewhere inconspicuous. Somewhere we would never think to look. Somewhere they could hide it in-"

"It could be at the church," Murayama said as she looked over. The other three looked at her weirdly.

"What? You couldn't feel it. There's a weird aura over there and it feels like a blanket," Murayama pointed at the church through the window. Issei quickly ran over and extended his senses towards the church. He felt a massive thread of energy that traveled into the sky and split into multiple veins of energy that landed in a massive twenty-mile square radius. He breathed out.

"Yeah, it's there," Issei said pointing at the church. "Let's go. Looks like all that training was for nothing."

"Not necessarily. It just means that we'll be able to defeat Lance while you disable the barrier," Tsukune said.

"Your vampire abilities and demonic abilities seems a bit like overkill don't you think?" Issei said.

"Overkill is better than no overkill. That bastard caught me off guard. This time, he won't," Tsukune said.

Issei nodded. "Don't kill him though, he may still have a family looking for him," Issei said. Tsukune nodded.

Issei lifted the window and slowly climbed out. Seeing that nobody was there, Issei signaled for them to follow. "Time to head to the church," Issei said as he looked directly at the abandoned cathedral on the other side of town.

* * *

**Montana, USA, 8:00 PM**

* * *

Artemis hopped from tree to tree looking for any trace of the Red Dragon Emperor. Her silver eyes drifted to the night sky. The moon looked so beautiful and always brought her a sense of peace. Well, she was a moon goddess so that would probably explain it. She heard footsteps crunching behind her and she immediately drew her bow and aimed it to the person behind her.

"Woah woah, Artemis-sama! It's just me!" Mitsuki raised her hands in defense. Artemis relaxed and lowered her bow.

"Chaos, you startled me," Artemis said as she sat back down on the branch. Mitsuki sat next to her and looked at the night sky. The two sat in comfortable silence simply enjoying each other's company.

"You know, people always told me that Aniki and I were polar opposites. He was the day and I was the night," Mitsuki began as she stared fondly at the moon. Artemis looked at her curiously. Why was she bringing this up?

"People couldn't be more wrong. I was like a white swan that everyone flocked to while Aniki was like the black raven that everyone avoided. Is it like that with your brother, Artemis-sama?" she asked never taking her eyes off the moon. Artemis looked down deep in thought.

"I guess it's similar in more of the terms that I'm your brother and you're Apollo," she said. Memories of her piggybacking Apollo back to their small hut on Delos after a hunt came to the forefront of her mind. She smiled at the memory. Things were so much simpler back when they were kids. Back before Orion…

"I envy you Mitsuki," Artemis said as she looked sadly at the sun pendant around her neck and stroked it. Mitsuki looked curiously at Artemis.

"You and your brother share a close relationship," she said as she smiled sadly at the sun pendant.

"May I ask what happened?" she asked. Artemis looked at her and gave her a sad smile and gestured to the sky.

"I killed his best friend," was all she said. Mitsuki looked at her oddly before returning her gaze to the night sky.

"I think that one day, you two will be close again. I bet he misses those days," Mitsuki said in an attempt to offer her some consolation. Artemis looked at her with a little shock on her face and nodded. A small smile graced her face.

"What about you? You always seem to want to please Issei," Artemis said as she grabbed a twig and twirled it between her fingers.

"Aniki was always there for me as a child. When our parents noticed my "talents", Aniki got pushed to the shadows. I lorded that fact over him for the majority of our childhood. Drove away all of his friends except for Irina. Made his life generally miserable as a child can," Mitsuki pulling out a necklace with the Yin symbol on it.

"On our first day of middle school, I expected everyone there to hold me up like in elementary. I was wrong. People were more concerned with their looks rather than how smart they were and I was immediately cast to the side like my brother. Friends that I thought were friends turned on me. Called me a nerd. A geek. I was alone. Everyone had left me except for one person. Aniki. He stuck by me the whole time even after how I treated him. After that, we started getting closer again. When we reached eighth grade, I promised that I would always have his back. Always," Mitsuki said as she smiled at the Yin necklace.

"Milady, where are you?" Thalia's voice was heard in the forest. Mitsuki and Artemis looked at each other and giggled.

"Looks like we have to get back them huh?" Artemis said as she hopped down from the tree. Mitsuki smiled before following her.

* * *

**Unknown Location, 8:25 PM**

* * *

The group of four silently made their way across the town towards the old church. Lance had set up sentries across the entire town to comb the area for them. Issei ducked causing the others to follow his lead as a golem walked right past them.

"I don't understand why we don't just take them out?" Murayama asked.

"If we do, then this entire operation is shot. Lance will know where we are and will have to fight an army to get to the church," Issei whispered back as he watched another golem walk down the street.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Issei darted across the street into an alleyway with the others behind him. Tsukune looked back to make sure that no one was following them.

"Mary, c'mon. I'll boost you up," Issei said as he got down. Mary nodded and placed her foot on his hand giving Issei the okay to boost her. She managed to grab the ladder and bring it down. Mary quickly climbed the ladder followed by Issei and Murayama. Issei squatted and held his hand out for Tsukune who jumped up and grabbed it.

They climbed to the roof of the building and saw the church off in the distance.

"Almost there," Murayama said as she glimpsed the church. The church in question wasn't a church at all. It was a cathedral. A big one at that. It had two massive steeples at the front of the church. A massive circular stained glass window was seen adorning the front.

"Let's go," Issei said. The small group continued their way across to the church. Lance's golems had thinned out allowing them to move at a faster pace. Eventually, they arrived at the cathedral gates.

"Wait," Issei said. He saw a massive dog made of wispy black energy guarding the entrance.

"Okay, if I had to guess, that's a hellhound," Mary said whispering to them. Tsukune and Murayama stared at the sheer size of it.

"We need to distract it," Issei said as he picked up a sizable rock and threw it at the window of a store across the street. The glass shattered alerting the hound. The demonic hound ran across the street allowing Issei and the others to sneak into the church.

"I'm guessing that's the anchor?" Tsukune said pointing out a large clear pearl at the altar.

"Looks like it," Issei said as he walked up to the stone. The minute he touched it, he was instantly connected to the entire barrier allowing him to sense everyone in the town. He focused on Lance's signature and saw that it was moving in the direction of the church and fast.

"Okay, I need you guys to guard the door while I figure out how to disarm this," Issei said inspecting the orb.

"Can't you just break it?" Murayama said picking up her bat.

Issei blinked and slapped his forehead. He picked up the orb and threw it at full strength into one of the pillars shattering the orb upon impact.

"Huh," Issei said as he walked over to one of the windows to see what happened. The entire sky flickered a violet color as the massive barrier came down.

"It worked," Murayama said looking out the window.

"Time to go," Tsukune said getting nods of approval from the rest of them. Issei immediately called his sister via CC. The ground suddenly shook underneath them as the body of a massive hellhound crashed through the church walls. It saw them and began to growl. Issei summoned the Boosted Gear preparing himself for a fight. Tsukune entered his Shinso Form.

Lance walked out from behind the hellhound and petted it. "You guys know that we could control these things. Of course, you wouldn't. You wouldn't know about the things we could do if we just gave in," he said as black veins pulsed throughout the left side of his face and appeared on his arms.

Issei's eyes narrowed. His powers had advanced this much in twenty-four hours? Impossible. "How did you get this much control over your powers in one day?" he asked.

"One day? I've been here since the beginning. You see, we weren't the only batch. Five months and sixty-something dead people. They just kept dropping kids off one after another. I mean, in the first one, I vomited after killing my graduating class but now… I find it satisfying watching the light leave their eyes after they bleed out. I guess you could say I'm your welterweight champion," Lance said with a sick grin on his face.

"Okay, question? Other than your sick fetish of watching people suffer, what's in it for you? Why do you want to lead an army of demons against everything?" Issei said.

"You wouldn't know what it's like. To watch your sister dying on her bed. Leading this army. It's my only way to save her," Lance said as the pulsation of the veins intensified. Issei went silent. He knew how he felt. To worry constantly about your sister and to lose them. His mind drifted to the many times during the Evil Dragon War where he felt as if he almost lost Mitsuki and to when Lily disappeared all those years ago.

"You're wrong. I know how you feel," Issei said as he gripped the Yang Pendant hidden under his shirt.

"Then you should know that there's no hard feelings right?" Lance said as he summoned more golems and called the hellhounds.

"Yeah," Issei said as he entered his **Lunar Cardinal Mode**. Lance threw his hand forward and all the golems and hellhounds charged at his command. Issei summoned Ascalon and infused it with Miasma. Swinging the sword, Issei unleashed a massive energy wave wiping out the entire frontal side of their assault.

"Tsukune, take the girls and get them out of here! My sister and our friends will meet you at the edge of town," Issei yelled as he swiped at a hellhound killing it. "GO!" Tsukune nodded and grabbed Mary and Murayama before taking off into the night sky bursting through the roof.

Lance formed a finger gun and pointed it at Tsukune's flying form. A small ball of darkness formed on it. Issei saw what he was doing and formed a darkness chain wrapping it around Lance's arm and yanking it in a different direction. The ball transformed into a beam and destroyed a wall inside the cathedral.

"Tch!" Lance looked at Issei, who was dancing a dance of destruction with his sword. He formed several spears of darkness and launched them at Issei, who quickly turned around and deflected all of them.

Issei charged at Lance with Ascalon ready to knock him out when a massive force rammed him sending him through the cathedral wall and outside. Issei crashed and skidded before stopping after he hit the fountain. The big hellhound. Issei had completely forgotten about him. The hound's entire body ignited into bright flames as it charged at Issei. Issei jumped to avoid being crushed by the hound's massive jaws.

Issei kicked the hound in the jaw driving its head into the ground. As he hovered over it, the hound's flames grew intense as Issei shielded himself from the massive wave of fire that erupted from the hound's body.

The hellhound suddenly jumped up and grabbed Issei in its jaws. The hound began to shake its head thrashing Issei as he struggled to pry the hound's jaws open to get out.

As he tried to pry the hound's jaws open in an attempt to escape, Issei formed black flames on his fist and while Boosting, punched the hound directly in the eye causing it to howl in pain dropping him. Wasting no time, Issei summoned Ascalon II and sliced the hound's throat open. A viscous magma like substance flowed from the wound while dark smoke-like energy worked to heal the slit throat of the hound.

"_Ddraig, Tiamat!"_

**[|RIGHT!|]**

**[BOOST x50]**

**|CALAMITY|**

A massive lightning bolt crashed down from the sky causing the Hellhound to scream in agony as its entire body was being electrocuted. Issei appeared above his head and poured his boosted Miasma into Ascalon creating a massive blade made of pure darkness and drove it through the hellhound's head killing it instantly.

Issei turned his smoldering gaze to a fuming Lance who commanded the rest of the Hellhounds and Golems to attack Issei.

**[BOOSt x10]**

**[DRAGON SHOT!]**

A beam of red energy pierced through several of the golems and hellhounds. Issei dodged an overhead smash from a stone golem and retaliated with an uppercut destroying the golem. Issei swung both Ascalons bisecting all offenders as he fought his way to reach Lance.

Lance took a step back as he saw Issei gaining ground until finally his back literally hit a wall. He saw Issei getting closer and in a desperate last act, Lance slammed his palm on the ground creating several earthen spikes in an attempt to impale Issei. Issei saw the ground erupt into a mess of spikes killing the remaining hounds and the golems and jumped upward to avoid them.

Issei looked at Lance with an intense expression on his face. He needed to finish this and fast.

* * *

**Unknown Location, Montana, 8:34 PM**

* * *

Kiba and Rossweisse surveyed their surroundings from the sky. As they flew at breakneck speeds across the night sky, a massive pulse of energy alerted them in the direction west of their location.

"What the?" Kiba said as he saw the sky flash a brilliant violet. Various complex runes rotated lazily in mid-air as they began to flicker out of existence. Kiba quickly turned to Rossweisse who kept staring in the direction of the barrier. "You think?" he began.

"Yeah, let's tell the others," Rossweisse said as she flew back in the group's direction. The two landed and saw Mitsuki running out of the woods with Sona.

The group turned and saw both duos land before them.

"What?" Artemis asked.

"We found them," Rossweisse said. Everyone jumped up with Irina and Kuroka being the fastest.

"Where!?" they both yelled.

"A couple of miles west," Kiba said.

"Then, let's go," Sairaorg said.

"Wait!" Mitsuki said. The group turned to her. "Aniki called me a few minutes ago," she said.

"What did he say?" Gasper asked.

"Nothing. He just tuned me into a conversation he had with another one of them. From what I heard, the demons are making them kill each other and the last one becomes the leader of an army of demons," she said.

"If he's making them kill each other, we have to hurry. Issei could be in trouble," Irina said. Mitsuki nodded. The group all took off at high speeds in the direction that Kiba and Rossweisse pointed them in. As they moved, Mitsuki's thoughts ran as fast as she did.

_Aniki. I'm coming_, she thought as they neared the town.

"Wait!" Ingvild said. The entire group stopped and looked at her. "Someone's coming," she said activating Nereid Kyrie. A man landed in front of them carrying two females. The Kuoh Students immediately recognized one of them.

"Murayama!" they exclaimed at the same time. Murayama looked up and saw her classmates.

"Mitsuki! Kiba! Irina! Come quick, you have to help Issei. He's fighting a psycho with demon powers!" she said waving her arms.

"Where is he!?" Irina asked. The man stepped forward. Irina turned to him and narrowed her eyes causing them to glow. A vampire?

"I'll show you. We don't have time. Hurry!" the vampire said taking off.

"My hunters and I will stay here and watch after these two. GO!" Artemis said as she began to heal Murayama.

The devils took off and followed the vampire in the direction of the cathedral. Their eyes widened when they saw the corpses of a massive eldritch hound the size of a house lying down on the ground. The entire cathedral garden was littered with the corpses of various dogs and rubble. A massive pillar of dark energy erupted a few hundred meters from the church.

The group looked in that direction for a single second before heading there.

Issei slammed his gauntlet into another golem shattering it. He had been fighting this guy for nearly an hour and he didn't let up. It appeared as if he wasn't tiring from the constant battle he had with Issei. Issei ducked as an arc of dark energy sliced apart the building behind him. He dashed dodging and jumping through the golems to avoid them.

Lance grit his teeth as he raised his arm creating a wall out of the concrete. The wall cracked and shattered as he felt something crash into his face. A crunching noise was heard as blood spurted from his face. Lance crashed into a wall and gripped his face. The damned bastard broke his nose.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST ROLL OVER AND LET ME KILL YOU!" Lance roared as he unleashed a wave of violet energy tearing up the entire block. Issei formed a dome of darkness shielding himself from the destructive dark energy of lance. The entire block was reduced to an incinerated crater. Issei lowered the dome and watched Lance stared at him panting.

"You did yet?" Issei said slowly walking towards him. Lance growled at Issei as he walked closer.

"I'm going to kill you and save Nancy if it's tha last thing I do," he said forming a spear of darkness over his palm.

"She wouldn't want this," Issei said sadly.

"But she'll live. I would rather she hate me and live than she dies," Lance replied in anger as he threw the spear at Issei.

"I promise to get her help," Issei said deflecting the poorly thrown spear.

"You can't help her. Only she can. The man promised that if I won, the Great Dragon would be grateful and heal her," Lance said rage completely overtaking him. His gaze had become hateful and desperate. "And you took that away!" he screamed at Issei.

"Well then, let's just agree to disagree. You're coming with me and whether you like it or not, we will get your sister some help. Help that isn't from demons," Issei said. Lance snapped and lunged at Issei after he finished. Issei dodged and drove his fist into Lance's temple knocking him out. He sighed and felt several energy signatures behind him.

"ISSEI!" Issei turned around when he heard his name being called and footsteps running only to feel a soft pair of lips crash into his own. Seeing that it was Irina from the brown hair, Issei leaned into the kiss. The two separated with a trail of saliva still connecting them and Issei heard the others walk up to them.

"Mou, Issei nya!~ I want one too," Kuroka pouted. Issei chuckled and walked over planting a chaste kiss on her lips. Kuroka smiled a goofy smile after they separated. Rossweisse also received a kiss from Issei leaving her with the same expression.

"Issei. I'm glad you're safe," Kiba said walking up and putting a hand on his shoulder. Issei felt someone hug him. He looked down and saw Ingvild hugging him tightly. She pulled out of the hug and looked at him with a bright smile.

"Glad to have you back… captain," she said.

"Senpai!" Gasper crashed into Issei's gut hugging him.

"Hey, Gyasuke!" Issei said patting his head.

"Senpai! Don't do that again!" he said. Issei turned his gaze towards the last person to greet him.

"Aniki!" Mitsuki jumped on Issei hugging him tightly.

"Mii-chan!" Issei said returning the hug at full force before separating. Issei looked and saw Gremory Peerage, Bael Peerage, Sitri Peerage, and Vali Team standing behind his sister.

"Thanks for finding me. I know we have some beef between us Rias but for now, thanks," Issei said. Rias's face brightened when she heard Issei thank her. She nodded her head and accepted it.

"Sairaorg! You're here too," he said walking up and shook his hand gripping Sairaorg's forearm.

"Of course. Our rematch is still on hold after all," he said.

"Kaichou. I never thought you'd come to save me," Issei said. Sona put her hands on her hips while her peerage laughed silently behind her.

"I would never abandon a student of Kuoh, Issei," Sona said pushing up her glasses. Issei chuckled and nodded. He turned towards Vali Team.

"Thanks, guys. Never knew that my biggest rival and his team would come to save me from a demon child one day," Issei said.

"No one's allowed to defeat you except for me Hyoudou," Vali said.

"What about that one time-"

"Shut up Bikou," Vali said. Bikou's mouth snapped shut. Everyone laughed at Vali's words.

Lance's eyes slowly opened. He looked around and saw Issei and Tsukune with several people around them. He wasn't stupid. If he attacked, then he would be quickly defeated. However, he could take out Issei and then make a break for it. Lance formed a dense spear of darkness and aimed it covertly at Issei. After he was finally sure that no one noticed him, he fired the spear and time slowed down.

Mitsuki smiled as she watched her brother conversing with the others. The vampire, who she learned was Tsukune Aono the fiancee of Moka Akashiya, one of the Shinso, like Valerie, was like her brother. She felt immense disgust when she heard that Beelzebub had broken into their home one night and fed her twin blood to give him his powers. She was most curious about this Princess. She was the source of the blood for all the Special Children and was the Big Boss of the demons. As she ran through her thoughts, she noticed Lance, one of the children, her brother told her about create a spear and throw it at Issei.

"ANIKI! LOOK OUT!" Mitsuki shoved her brother out of the way.

Pain was all Issei felt in his chest after Mitsuki shoved him to the ground. He looked up and his eyes widened in horror at the sight that greeted him.

"NOOO! MITSUKI!" Issei sprang up and caught Mitsuki as she fell. She had a fist-sized circular hole on her chest where her heart was located. Her blood flowed from the wound staining her uniform and from her mouth.

"A...niki," she gasped out as she began to bleed out in Issei's arms. Issei turned his gaze to Lance who smirked. Issei unleashed a blast of darkness leveling the entire street everything else behind it. After the smoke cleared, Lance had disappeared but Issei knew he was alive. He saw the bastard cover himself in black smoke and disappear before the blast connected. He turned his attention back to his sister.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay. Mii-chan, look at me," Issei said as he removed his hand from her back and gently held her shoulder. He saw blood staining his hand and decided to ignore it. Right now, his sister needed him. He gently cupped her face with both hands. Her skin. It was losing color.

"Aniki… I'm sleepy," she said as her lips began to turn blue and her beautiful brown eyes began to lose their shine.

"Hey hey, stay with me okay! ASIA! HELP HER NOW!" Issei roared as he kept gently stroking Mitsuki's hair. The poor nun flinched as she hastily made her way over to Mitsuki. She inspected the wound and began to try and heal it despite knowing that any attempt she made would be futile. The wound was fatal and the heart was too heavily damaged for even her to heal. She doubted that even Phenex Tears could fix this.

"C'mon Mii-chan, it's gonna be okay. It's not even that bad see. Asia will have you patched up in no time," Issei said holding his twin close. She didn't respond. Her breathing slowed down to a near still.

"Mii-chan? Mitsuki! Hey, hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay. I'm going to take care of you okay. 'Cause it's my job right. The job of the big brother to take care of his pain in the ass little sister?" he said bringing her out and gently patting her cheek hoping that would wake her up. No response. Her dull eyes stared lifelessly back at him. Issei felt her skin begin to grow cold. Everyone around the two looked away as they couldn't bear to watch.

"Mii-chan? No, no, no, you're just joking right, Mii-chan?" Issei said hugging her tightly again as tears began to flow from his face. Asia had stopped healing the minute she felt her life force fade away into nothing.

"Hey, it's not funny anymore."

No response.

"Wake up. Please..."

Still no response.

Issei sat there with his bangs covering his eyes as a stream of tears flowed steadily down his face. He had long since lost the feeling of warmth that emanated from his sister and only felt her cold corpse in his arms.

"Mitsuki..." Issei sobbed hugging his beloved sister's dead body.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Scrumblenut says: The idea of the deathmatch, from what i can think of, would have been an idea of the Hunger Games. Could be wrong though. This chapter was definitely interesting. I am, however, curious. So far, only Issei and his group, along with Blacklight, have been able to at least combat the Demons... It intrigues me as to how the others will be able to remain important to the story in more ways than just theorising, research, and rescuing kids with miasma. It feels as though they are being underplayed, or at least in the ways of characters like Azrael, who have a lot of potential in them. Artemis will be interesting to watch, considering her 'multiple personalities.' I think I've explained everything that was on my mind... hopefully. Take care**

**Do not worry my dear friend! The others will become more active after the first season. I just used this entire first season to introduce the enemy's capabilities. As for Azrael, you'll see a drop of her power at the end of the first season/arc. Also, I'm glad you like this Artemis. I know all the Artemis's on this site aside from the ones from the Fate/Series fanfics are all die-hard man-haters so I'm glad you like her.**

**emiya-excalibur says: I wasn't even thinking it could be Ghidorah at first. But I got it when Issei was fighting his evil pieces and the dragon used "golden lightning" as it's breath attack. That is when the bell went off in my head. I then looked at the fannon wiki article you made and saw that it really was Ghidorah.**

**I kind of low-key want Beelzebub to also have a Toho kaiju true form. Given how you have written him so far I see him being like Final Form Destroyah**.

**Huh, so you guys actually do read the articles. Also, great idea! I will however have to give the kaiju form to someone else as I already set in Beelzebub's true form. Sorry about that. I'm really glad you guys seem to like a dragon Lucifer rather than a devil Lucifer.**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: This demon princess interested in issei is quite the enigma. But if she was able to make the other demons do her bidding, i shudder to think how the supernatural world will be able to stop her. Also since reading this story and looking at the obsession she has for issei, is she going to give rias and the ex-girlfriends a... "lesson" for what they did?**

**Just a few more chapters til she fully shows herself. Her identity will shock everyone! Well, everyone who hasn't figured out who she is. A couple of people have sent me guesses but only a few were correct. Let me know who you guys think she is and I'll tell you whether or not you're right or wrong! Also, Rias and the others will get their punishments at the end of the first season/arc.**

**Lord Shiva says: Awesome chapter!**

**Thanks mate! **

**Sykartracer says: Ok, this chapter was also good. Ophis appears and cares about Issei. I'd love to see her actually yell at someone, and the reactions that would get. I do believe this death battle was inspired by the Hunger Games (never seen/read them and don't understand the fascination with it). Nice addition of Tskune Aono from RosarioVampire, I hope he doesn't die, just so him and Moka (and maybe Akasha if she's around in your timeline) can wreck some demons.**

**And thanks for the review reply, and I admit, I laughed a lot at the vision of New Moon Artemis. Percy said he doesn't mess with Full Moon Artemis, I can't wait to see what she does, and hopefully the reactions of the others will be well worth the wait for next chapter.**

**I'm so glad you liked this version of Ophis! It makes me really happy. As for her exploding on the Gremory Peerage, that will happen actually so hope you can wait a bit longer. And yes, Akasha is alive. She isn't fused with Moka in this timeline. Before I forget, once again, this is not a crossover. I just put in characters from other fandoms that would easily fit into the DxD Universe or Omniverse in the case of this fic. Anyway, yeah, New Moon Artemis will pop up soon since it's almost the beginning of March in this fic.**

**I hope you all don't hate me for what happened this chapter. This is something I had planned since this story came into my mind one year ago. As the story went through changes, this event stayed the same throughout. Remember follow/fav/review. I will answer questions about myself! I hope you all have a great day/night wherever you are the choice is yours.**


	23. My Sister's Keeper

**Pyre: Sorry about the last chapter but I needed Mitsuki to die in order for something to happen in this chapter. Anyway, Issei is about to do something really stupid in this chapter. However, before we begin, I would like to say that thank you all for reading. You guys are all an amazing group of people and I am happy that you all find some entertainment int his. Alright, who's doing the disclaimer?**

**Ingvild: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Unknown Location, Wyoming, USA, 9:35 PM, February 24, 2020; Current Time: 3 minutes and 30 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Lance fell on the forest floor panting. He had meant to aim for Issei, not his bitch sister. He scrambled and began to run to get as much distance as he could between him and Issei.

"Nice night for a run huh Lance?" a voice called out from the woods. He stopped and turned to see the malevolent eyes of Beelzebub looking at him. The demon was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and his cloak fluttering lazily behind him.

"You," Lance said with slight anger. Beelzebub raised his hands in front of him.

"Woah big guy. Easy. I just came to congratulate you that's all," he said. Lance relaxed a little.

"Okay, now that I won, what now?" he said. "You promised that she would heal my sister!"

"All in good time Lance but for now, I need you to do one more thing for me. About a ten-hour trek from here is a railroad. I need you to meet me there because there is something I need you to do," Beelzebub said as he smiled at him. Lance narrowed his eyes at his request.

"I thought you said that-"

"Nuh-uh. This is the last teeny thing you need to do. After all, you're a leader now and what is a leader without his army."

Lance looked at him before nodding. "You promise that she'll get better," Lance said.

"Demons never break their promises. It's how we get deals after all," Beelzebub said.

* * *

**Montana, USA, 9:45 PM**

* * *

Issei sat down staring with dead eyes at the corpse of his twin sister. Vali had carried her into a nearby building and laid her on the table. He heard Irina walk up next to him.

"Issei," she said. Issei didn't respond. "Issei, please you have to get up. She wouldn't want to see you like this," Irina said.

Issei looked at her with his dead eyes. "Please, just leave me alone for now Irina," he said in a dead tone. Irina bit her lip in worry. She moved to say more when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Irina turned to see Kuroka, who shook her head. "Let him grieve," she said. Irina looked back at Issei before leaving the room with Kuroka.

Issei just returned his focus to his dead sister.

_Why? Why her? She doesn't deserve this,_ Issei thought as his rage and anger grew. A black aura surrounded him and began to increase in size. His fist was clenched so tight that his hand began to bleed. Without warning, Issei burst through the roof and flew off in the direction west of the town.

Irina and Kuroka turned their heads when they saw a black and red streak dash across the sky. Irina spread her wings and prepared to follow him but was stopped by Kiba who grabbed her arm.

"LET ME GO KIBA! I have to help him!" she said.

"You can't! Issei has to grieve in his own way. When he's ready to seek help, he'll seek us out," Kiba explained. Irina kept trying to follow Issei until Vali chopped her neck knocking her out. Kiba and Kuroka looked at him as Vali lowered himself to the ground and gave Irina to Kiba.

Issei flew for several miles and nosedived into the ground. His landing caused the entire ground to tremble. Issei roared in grief and rage as he punched the ground destroying the forest floor and uprooting the trees.

**[|ABYSS DRAGON DRIVE|]**

Issei was covered in the black and red armor of his most powerful form. He created a massive beam of black energy and fired it into the distance creating a massive explosion destroying the mountain off in the distance. Issei roared a primal roar akin to a dragon.

The sky seemed to respond to his rage as lightning crashed down around him and the winds began to form uprooting trees. Rain poured from the sky in gallons causing every living thing for several miles to run and find shelter.

Issei coated his fist in energy and poured his despair into the next hit as he slammed his fist into the ground creating a massive crater several hundred meters in diameter.

Ddraig and Tiamat watched in sadness as their host entered the **Outrage Mode**. A form brought upon by rage enhancing the powers of dragons. Issei fired another blast carving a massive trench into the earth several hundred meters deep. Flames raged across the forest as smoke filled the sky and blotted out the moon.

He heard a twig break several meters behind him and fired a massive beam of dark energy destroying everything for miles creating a massive explosion the minute it impacted a mountain.

All the wildlife for several miles fled in terror at the being that was currently destroying everything. Issei looked up and saw the moon and was instantly reminded of his sister.

"Mitsuki…"

Issei fired a massive **Soul Extinctor **at the Moon. The beam traveled at light speed penetrating the Earth's atmosphere and quickly reaching the moon and leaving a new crater on its surface. The explosion was seen from Earth as all looked up at the night sky after seeing a massive flash of light emanating from the Moon.

Issei panted as he fell to his knees in the middle of his self-made crater. He began to sob as the reality of his sister's death. Rubble from the Moon's surface rained down from the sky around him.

"No, Mii-chan" Issei sobbed as he beat the ground weakly with his fist. His mind raced through his memories with his sister.

"Aniki, wanna watch a movie today?"

"Aniki Aniki, look at this!"

"I'll always stand by you, Aniki!"

Her bright smile flashed through his memories comforting him briefly before sending him further into depression.

"What do I do?" he whispered hoping anyone even Mitsuki would answer. His eyes widened as a memory flashed through his mind.

"_They're commonly known as Faustian Demons. The name is derived from the Faustian Bargain in which you can sell your soul for fame, riches, power, etc."_

Issei's eyes grew wide as the memory replayed over and over in his mind. This was his chance. A chance to bring her back.

Ddraig and Tiamat grew worried at Issei's train of thought.

**[Issei, I know you're in grief but think about what you're doing. Do you really think she would want this?]** Ddraig tried to get Issei to see reason.

**|Whelp. Issei. Please think about what you're going to do!|** Tiamat said in worry as Issei's thoughts took a turn.

"I have to do this. I promised her that I would always protect her," Issei said as he robotically got up. His shadow wings spread and he flew into the air.

**[Issei! Don't do this! There are others who can help you through this! Issei! Isse-!]** Issei cut the mental link between himself and Ddraig and Tiamat. He began to recall what he needed to summon one.

_A bone of a black cat. Milk from a black cow. A picture of myself inside an iron box buried in a crossroads,_ Issei thought recalling what he read during his training and his memories from the mission to Germany.

Issei saw a small town and landed on the outskirts. He walked into town and began to look for a stray cat. After an hour of searching, Issei spotted a stray black cat slinking across the street. He dashed towards the cat grabbing it by its tail. The cat hissed and tried to scratch Issei but Issei swung the cat bashing it across the steel lamppost. Issei threw the cat onto the ground.

The poor animal meowed at Issei in pain. Giving it no mercy, Issei lifted his foot and brought it down on the cat's head. A sick crunching noise was heard across the empty street as blood flowed onto the road. Pieces of the cat's skull and brain scattered across the sidewalk. Issei picked up the headless corpse of the cat and formed a darkness blade on his hand. He skinned the cat's leg and ripped off its femur. After stripping off all the meat, Issei pocketed the bone and threw the cat's corpse on the ground. He spread his wings and took off back into the sky.

* * *

**Unknown Location, 9:45 PM same time as Issei's rage mode**

* * *

Mitsuki's eyes fluttered open. What happened? Is Issei okay? Mitsuki shot up from the table and began to look around. She ran outside and saw Vali knock out Irina.

"Vali, what did you do that for?" she said as she reached out to grab him. Her hand phased right through his arm. Her eyes grew wide. "What the?" she said as she waved her hand through Vali's arm.

"What's going on here?" she said. Mitsuki saw that they were regrouping with Artemis and her hunters. "Guys! I'm right here. Something's wrong. Why can't you hear me!?" she said in frustration as she tried to get their attention. Mitsuki just sat down on the ground pouting as she watched everyone mope around the campfire. Rias and her peerage had tears in their eyes while Kiba just stared at the ground with hardened eyes. Irina looked blankly at the fire. Ingvild just cried quietly with her knees up to her chest and Gasper hid himself away. Rossweisse was drinking heavily with a flask she had smuggled out of Gremory house.

"Why are you all so sad? Did something happen? Hello!" she said trying to get their attention once more. She waved her hand in front of their faces.

"They can't hear or see you. You're not powerful enough as a ghost to start affecting the material worlds," a female voice called out from behind her. Mitsuki whirled around and tried to summon **Telos Karma**. A beautiful woman with navy blue hair and red eyes stood in front of her. She wore a one-piece female business suit and attached to her hip was a scythe. She was holding a clipboard in her hand and was writing something with a pen.

"Mitsuki Hyoudou, age 17. Born April 16, 2002. Current Wielder of the Artifact, Telos Karma. Twin Sister of the current Red Dragon Emperor, Issei Hyoudou, correct?" the woman said looking at her with appraising eyes.

"Y-yes?" she said nervously. How did this woman know who she was?

"Oh good! I thought I got the wrong location. You know I almost made the same mistake with Hitler's soul. Haha, that would have been a lot of paperwork" she made the clipboard and pen vanish and bowed.

"It is an honor to be the one to reap you. I am Teysara. A Reaper who serves MAVETH. I shall be the reaper escorting you to your afterlife today," she said. She looked up at her and smiled. "Please call me Teysa", she said.

"Reaper? Wait, does that mean that..?" she began trembling.

Teysa nodded sadly. "Yes, sadly you died. But at the same time, you saved your brother. I'm sure this will count towards Heaven points!~" Teysa said smiling brightly. Mitsuki sweatdropped at her words before a thought flashed through her ghostly head.

"Wait? Who is MAVETH? I thought reapers worked for Hades? And me going to Heaven? People like me don't go to Heaven" she asked.

"Huh? Hades? Nah, I would never lower myself to work for someone I'm more powerful than. Also, it was the Archangels who requested that you go there, BINAH and DA'AT advocated for it," Teysa said summoning a melon bread and began to eat it.

"Who are BINAH and DA'AT?"

"You know them as Azrael and Azazel."

"So they know that I…"

"Yes, they do."

A silence fell between the two as Teysa stared at Mitsuki, who was trying to comprehend the depth of her situation.

"Sho? *swallow* Before we go, I figured that we could have a short conversation ya know. Anything you want to know about life, the Grand Scheme of things, etc., etc.," Teysa said twirling her scythe in her hands and breaking their silence.

"Okay… You're a reaper right?" Mitsuki asked.

"Archreaper to be exact. Think of us as the Veil's version of the Seraphim or the Princes of Hell!~" Teysa said.

"The Veil?" Mitsuki asked.

"It's where we are right now! The Veil is a parallel plane of existence of various levels that exist within and alongside the Physical and Spiritual Realms. People like to call it Limbo but that's incorrect. Limbo's in Hell. Us Archreapers rule the different levels of the Veil. I'm the one in charge of Assiah, the level closest to the Physical and Spiritual Realms," Teysa explained.

"Okay, so this place is where people like me go before…" Mitsuki said.

"Right! Think of this as the waiting room to the Afterlife," she said. Mitsuki fell on her butt and began to fall into a depression. She stared blankly at the ground. "Look, I know it's hard but they'll be okay," Teysa tried to comfort her.

"No, I need to go back. I can't die yet! I can't abandon my brother!" Mitsuki yelled.

"I wish I could send you back but I need a green light from the Big Boss before shoving a high profile soul like you back into your meat suit in mint condition," Teysa said to her. Mitsuki looked deep in thought.

"Then take me to him! Your boss," she said. Teysa narrowed her eyes and unleashed an intense, oppressive aura that paralyzed Mitsuki.

"Such disrespect for a fleeting spark like you. Besides, we don't call him, he calls us. That being said, you can't go see him. He's preoccupied and is currently in a meeting with SEPHIRA at the moment," Teysa said dispersing the aura. Mitsuki released a breath she had been holding. "Look on the bright side despite being a devil, it seems that you might get sent to Heaven," she said. Mitsuki glared at the reaper who simply smiled at her.

"So how does this work anyway? Do I have to like go right now?" Mitsuki asked the reaper.

"No, we'll go when you're ready. You need to finish your affairs. That and the fact that your soul seems to be clinging on to your dead body. It's why you're more alive than other ghosts. I'd say you're the strangest thing I've seen come from Earth to Assiah ever since KETER showed me that invention. Condoms, I think they were called. Can you imagine wrapping a deflated balloon around a penis?" Teysa said.

"What no!? And who the hell is KETER!?" Mitsuki said.

"Woah, calm down. KETER is the oldest Archangel," Teysa said.

"You mean Michael right?" Mitsuki asked.

"What no, not HOD. Okay, does the name QLIPPAH, Lucifer or Helel ring any bells?" she asked.

"Yeah, the Original Devil. Why?" Mitsuki said.

"Devil? No, she was an Angel. The highest one," Teysa said as she stared off into the night.

"An angel?" Mitsuki said skeptically.

"Yup, she fell when she tempted her younger sister, the Original Human, Eve, to eat fruit from the Sefirot," Teysa said.

"Sefirot?" Mitsuki was becoming more intrigued by the second.

"Divine Tree. Geez, you call yourself a Devil but you can't even remember the history of your kind's Creator," Teysa said.

"Sorry, I'm not really getting a degree in Devil History anytime soon you know," Mitsuki pouted at the person supposed to be reaping her.

"Why did she do it anyway? It has to be more than just simple jealousy like it says in the Bible?" Mitsuki asked.

"No one really knows. Whenever we asked, she just said one word. AYIN. Whatever that means," Teysa said.

"Hmmm, I have one more heavy question before I start asking about your job," Mitsuki said. Teysa looked at her weirdly before motioning for her to ask. "Who is the Princess?"

"Oh, you mean the Firstborn! Well, her name is…"

* * *

**Unknown Location, MT, USA, 11:30 PM**

* * *

Issei landed in the center of an abandoned four-way intersection. He walked over to the side of the road and took out an iron lockbox he had stolen from a pawn shop. The black cow milk was hard to find as all the black bovines he had come across were bulls. It was only by a stroke of luck that Issei had found a female black cow. Such a shame he had to threaten the farmer by injuring his farmhand to get milk from the cow. He dug a small hole deep enough for the box to fit in and put his Japanese State ID, the black cat bone, and the milk inside the box and buried it.

He got up and went to the middle of the intersection and waited for a demon to appear. A chill surrounded the entire area as Issei turned to a source of Miasma that appeared. He saw a woman wearing a black jacket with red eyes and brown hair.

"What! You? Nuh-uh," she said as she readied herself to teleport out. Issei held his hand out in a grip and froze her in place.

"I summoned you to make a deal," he said as he tightened the grip causing the demon to grunt in pain.

"Look I would love to but I have orders not to!" she said to try to get him to stop crushing her organs.

"You mean from the Firstborn? Well, she can go and shove that order up her ass because as long as I'm the one holding you that means that I'm your boss and you're my bitch," Issei said increasing the pressure causing her to scream in pain.

"OKAY OKAY! Just please!" she screamed. Issei let her go and she fell to the ground in pain. "Just so you know, I will die in the most horrible way possible after this!" she said to Issei in hatred.

"Not my problem," he said coldly. "Now bring her back!"

"Who? Be specific," she said getting up and dusting herself off.

"My sister," Issei said. The demon quirked her brow.

"That's it? Alright then," as she moved to snap her fingers, the demon froze. "What? My princess! I'm sorry he had me bound! Please forgive me, my Princess! You will? Thank you! Bring her back? On whose orders? The Queen? As you wish my princess," she finished the call. "Well, kid looks like you got a green light," she said.

"Well, why aren't you bringing her back?" Issei said.

"There's a catch. I can't give you the usual decade," she said.

"Bullshit! What do you mean you can't!?" Issei yelled.

"I have strict orders not to do so and don't even think about it. I'm warded right now," she said. Issei grit his teeth.

"How long?" he asked in defeat.

"One year. One year and nothing longer. The Great Dragon wills it," she said.

Issei weighed the choice in his head. Himself for his sister and he only gets one year. Was it worth it? Was it worth leaving Irina and the others for his twin? His literal other half? An image of his smiling sister popped into his head. Issei shook his head.

_For them. Anything is worth it,_ Issei thought in determination. Ddraig and Tiamat watched in silence as their host cemented his decision that would damn his soul to Hell for eternity.

"Yes," Issei said.

The demon smiled widely. "Splendid! Here's the contract. Just sign here and here in your blood," she said producing a short piece of paper with multiple signature lines. She handed him a pen.

Issei swiped the pen from her hand and began to sign. As he did, he felt intense pain as his blood was being drained by the pen. His entire soul felt as it was being branded.

Back at the town, Mitsuki fell to her knees screaming in pain as she felt a burning sensation similar to branding on her very essence. Teysa narrowed her eyes. She immediately shoved her hand through Mitsuki's soul and her eyes grew wide.

As Issei finished signing, lightning and thunder clapped across the night sky despite there not being any clouds.

"Pleasure doing business with you," she said as she smirked arrogantly before disappearing.

Issei took off back in the direction of the town as soon as she disappeared at hypersonic speeds.

* * *

**Unknown Town, MT, USA, 12:00 AM**

* * *

Mitsuki's eyes shot open as she jolted upright breathing in massive amounts of air. She heard someone burst through the door. She felt someone engulf her in a hug. Mitsuki's eyes wandered to the familiar brown hair.

"Aniki? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Her mind was in a haze. What happened. She recalled vague memories of speaking to a woman named Teysa but nothing else.

"Nothing!" Issei said pulling out and wiping his tears. "You got hurt saving me from Lance and you've been unconscious for a few hours," Issei said lying. Mitsuki nodded but in the back of her mind, she knew he was lying. Just what the hell happened?

Several other footsteps entered the room and she saw the others staring at her with their jaws dropped.

"Mitsuki! You're okay!" Irina tackle hugged her followed by the rest of Eden Squad who dogpiled her.

"Guys! I… can't… breaaaathe!" she rasped out. They all got off of her and hugged her one by one. Mitsuki smiled at the affection she received but was confused. They acted like she had died. She turned her head when she felt someone hug her.

"Vali?" Mitsuki said as she felt wet spots appear on her shoulder. Vali was hugging her and crying. "Ne, Vali? I'm alright now," she said. "Vali?" she asked as he brought her out of the hug. He held his face dangerously close to hers. Mitsuki felt her face heat up at the closeness.

"V-Vali? You're too-MMMPPH!" her eyes widened as she felt Vali's lips crash into hers. After a few seconds, she leaned into it and closed her eyes.

Everyone who was watching had their jaws on the floor. Kuroka immediately handed over 5000 yen to Irina whose jaw was firmly planted between her feet. Le Fay regained her composure and pulled out a notebook and began to furiously scribble in it as her nose began to bleed.

The two pulled away from each other and were brought out of la-la land by an immense killing intent. They both turned to Issei who was smiling calmly with his eye twitching every few seconds. His signature dark aura surrounded him as he looked between his twin sister and Vali.

"Mind explaining what that was all about?" Issei said as the aura grew more menacing with each second. Mitsuki spent the next ten minutes defending her new boyfriend? Yes, _her _boyfriend from her irate and possibly homicidal twin brother. Issei calmed down and gave the two his blessing but not before combining his own aura with that of Ddraig and Tiamat that sent shivers down Vali and Albion's spines.

Issei watched with a small smile as his sister interacted with everyone in the room. He felt Irina next to him and turned to her. She was giving him The Look and she nodded her head to the door. Knowing what was about to come, Issei followed her out of the building. They walked in tense silence into an alleyway where upon entering, Irina pinned Issei to a wall and glared at him. He stared back at her emotionlessly.

"What the hell did you do?" she said in a low voice.

"What I had to," Issei said not looking at her. Irina seemed to instinctively know what he did.

"Why?" she said her voice breaking.

"To save her. I would've done it for any of you. Especially if it was you," Issei said finally looking at her. Irina snapped and slapped him hard in the face.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? YOU SOLD YOUR SOUL! And now what!? Mitsuki and I have to watch you die now!? " she screamed.

Issei kept silent as Irina yelled at him and pounded her fists on his chest in sorrow and fury. Her thrashing weakened and eventually subsided as she stared at the concrete with her bangs shadowing her face.

"How long?" she simply asked.

"One year," Issei said. Irina lost her balance and fell to her knees. Issei couldn't bear to see his girlfriend like that and hugged her. Irina gripped him tightly and sobbed into his shirt. They stayed like that for several minutes until Irina pulled out and looked at him.

"I swear Issei. I will free you from this. I will find a way to break this deal," Irina said to him. Issei nodded but he didn't believe her, at least not fully. The way the demon said it. It sounded impossible to break. Issei and Irina just stayed there holding each other for comfort that didn't quite reach them.

* * *

**Unknown Location, Wyoming, USA, 6:55 AM**

* * *

Lance arrived in front of a railroad in the literal middle of nowhere. He looked to the sky and saw swirling funnels of black mist flying around in the sky. Whenever one tried to get past the rails, it was repelled and a mass of complex and intricate runes briefly appeared in the sky before vanishing.

"Looks like you made it to the party," a voice said next to him. Lance jumped and formed a dagger made of pure darkness. Beelzebub turned slightly to look at him before turning back to the rails.

"Alright, I'm here. What do you want?" Lance said. Beelzebub looked at him before reaching into his pocket and pulling out an old revolver and handed it to Lance.

"A Colt revolver? What do you want me to do with it?" he said as he accepted it.

"Revolver? Hardly. That right there is possibly the only existing weapon left in all of Creation that can kill me. It's also a key for the thing I need you to go get past these rails. It's another twelve-hour walk to your destination from here," Beelzebub said to him.

"What's to stop me from shooting you right here?" Lance said pointing the gun at his face after hearing that this was the only weapon that could kill Beelzebub.

"Oh go ahead. But I wouldn't. After all, you wouldn't want something to happen to your cute little sister, would you? I know some demons have had their eyes on her and I'm the only one preventing them from attacking. How about this? I let you kill the two I'm talking about and you use the Gun to get what I need? Deal?" Beelzebub said.

Lance nodded. Beelzebub sent out a mental command for two demons. Two male demons landed in front of Lance. One was a lanky Caucasian male while the other looked as if he was of Asian descent.

"Lance, this is Abraxas and Daruda. Feel free to kill them," Beelzebub said shocking the two. Without hesitation, Lance fired the Colt at the two demons killing them instantly. Lance watched with satisfaction as the demons fell to the ground, their bodies flashing with a fiery orange before dying.

"Better?" Beelzebub asked. Lance nodded but before crossing over the rails, he turned to the Prince of Hell and asked him,

"Why can't you cross?"

Beelzebub sighed in annoyance before walking up to the rails and placing his hand on it. A barrier comprised of runes appeared preventing Beelzebub from entering.

"Any more questions?" Lance shook his head at Beelzebub's question and made his way past the rails.

* * *

**Ars Nova, 8:00 AM**

* * *

The doors open as the search party returned with Issei and three of the other missing children. Azrael, upon seeing Issei and Mitsuki, immediately got up and engulfed them in a big hug followed by Azazel. The two Archangels had known that Mitsuki died. They were confused for a split second when they saw her again but decided to keep it to themselves.

"I'm glad you all made it back safely," a familiar voice said in the hall. Issei looked up from the hug and saw Cornelius and the other members of Blacklight.

"Good to see you kid," Eric said with a lazy wave and a glass of wine in the other hand. Lisa merely nodded and smiled while Isran gave a nod before giving Tsukune a brief glare.

Issei separated from Azrael and immediately felt two red missiles crash into him. He looked down and saw Lily and Millicas hugging him. Issei looked down at Lily and picked her up and hugged her.

"I'm sorry for making you worry," Issei said to her. Lily nodded and just clung tightly to him. "Hey big guy, thanks for looking after Lily for me," Issei said ruffling Millicas's hair while holding Lily in his other arm. Millicas beamed with pride as his hero gave him a head pat.

The Archangels watched the scene with nostalgia in their eyes. Michael's mind flew back to that moment before all Creation began.

_A younger Michael flew around in the between of Nothingness and Existence. He had finally achieved flight after… time was nonexistent so, after a while of practice._

"_Good job, Michael!" a white-haired woman clapped praising him with her twenty __midnight black to blood red gradient wings fluttering excitedly._

_Michael smiled sheepishly at the praise he received._

"_Thank you, Ellie!"_

He was brought out of his thoughts when Azrael coughed to get his attention. She jutted her thumb towards Issei who was being hugged by everyone. Michael turned his gaze and focused on Issei. His eyes widened significantly when he saw it. A brand on Issei's soul. Motioning to Azrael not to say anything, Michael spoke up.

"Issei-san. I'm glad you're alright but we have not time to rest," he said. Issei nodded. "If you will, please tell us what happened."

Issei began to relay everything he had learned and the dream Beelzebub showed him. How he had used blood to facilitate the infusion of Miasma into others. How the blood was provided by a being only known to him as The Princess. The battle Beelzebub had forced them to fight in. And finally, Issei told them of one of the Special Children named Lance, who had escaped and was most likely now in Beelzebub's claws.

"This is bad," Cornelius said. "We need to get there immediately."

"I concur. We will mobilize a small army to go and confront Beelzebub and his demons," Sirzechs said getting nods from his fellow Satans. He turned to Issei. "Eden Squad, Vali Team, Sitri Peerage, Bael Peerage, Gremory Peerage. You are to follow the lead of the Risa into this location. We shall also accompany you as well as the Greeks who are sending their Seven most powerful demigods, alongside Artemis, her Hunt, Athena, Ares, and Hephaestus," he said motioning for Grayfia to pull out a holographic projection. A hologram of the United States was displayed. Cornelius went over to the projection and highlighted five points on the map in Wyoming.

"These five locations all contain railroads that connect them. As you can see, it forms a massive pentagram. The rails are engraved with Enochian Runes designed to keep the Demons out and contain something inside. The Archangels have come forth with information that at the very center inside is what we have decided to call a Devil's Gate. Essentially, it is a doorway to Gehenna or in simpler terms, Hell. You will enter here," Cornelius said pointing to a location and zooming in. "This location has the lowest density in terms of the number of demons patrolling the area. You will then make your way to here," the map zoomed into a massive military graveyard. "This old cavalry graveyard from the days of Westward expansion is your destination. After reaching this location, you are to prevent the Special Child Lance from unlocking the Door. In addition, I shall send Lisa and Eric with you," Cornelius finished. Lisa smiled at them while Eric smirked and winked. "That will be all," he said.

Azrael took this time to speak to them. "I will meet you there once I finish something," she said causing them all to nod.

"Alrighty kids~," Gabriel said. "Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. I'm going to Shazam you to the location where Artemis and her group will meet you." The group going obeyed with the Satans taking the lead at the front and the peerages at the back. Before they left, Gabriel said this to Issei.

"Good luck, Little Dragon."

She snapped her fingers and the group vanished. After that, Gabriel turned her gaze back to her siblings.

"He did it," she said.

Raphael rubbed his temples before sighing. "Considering what happened to his sister, I'm not surprised," he said. "What bothers me is how we never noticed."

Uriel, Azazel, and Azrael all looked down deep in thought. Michael put his hand on his chin before coming to a realization.

"She warded the area against us," he said his eyes growing wide in fear. "She wants to drag Issei down to Hell. Whatever our sister has planned, she needs Issei out of the way."

"Impossible, why would she want Issei to die? She's never met him before," Uriel stated.

"Yes, I have to agree with flame brain over here," Azazel said. "Ellie would never do something like that. This whole situation with her suddenly being hellbent on destroying the world by sending demons to raze all of Creation is very strange."

Azrael looked out the window. "I know. But remember, we haven't heard from her for decades. That in and of itself is strange. I can't help but think about what happened within that frame of time", she said turning back to her older siblings. The Archangels stayed silent at her words. What did happen to their older sister?

* * *

**Wyoming, USA, 10:30 AM**

* * *

Risa turned her head to see the others arrive. A man with black hair wearing a biker's outfit with flaming red eyes began to talk.

"Finally, they're here," he said getting up. His baseball bat transformed into a broadsword. This man was Ares, Olympian God of War.

Athena looked at her brother in annoyance. "Shut up, Ares," she said. Ares turned his gaze to his sister.

"Make me Birdbrain!" he said. Artemis and a man with red hair, a lock of white hair on his bangs, and brown eyes with a burn scar on the left side of his face, sighed at their siblings' antics.

"Hey, Heph, remind me again. Why the hell did we ever agree to bring Ares along and not Apollo?" she said to her older brother. Hephaestus looked at her and looked back to a squabbling Athena and Ares.

"Because, Father, deemed Ares to annoying," he said summoning a white falchion with a yin-yang symbol and began to sharpen it. Artemis turned her gaze to the new arrivals. Her cheeks dusted red when she saw Issei. Curse her Full Moon Form! Now, he'll think she's too forward a woman and never consider her as girlfriend materia-

_Whoa, Artemis, where the Hades did that come from? You are a rock. A steel trap. Completely against men except for Hephaestus and now, Apollo! But he looks so hot! Stop it brain!, _Artemis grabbed her cheeks and looked down. She heard footsteps and looked up seeing Issei smiling at her.

"Thanks for coming to save me, Artemis-sama!" he said beaming at her.

"O-of course! Be grateful that I, Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, considered even trying to rescue you!" she said pointing at him with a red face. Issei smiled sweatdropping. They turned around when Issei heard Sirzechs call for everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, we will be flying from here on out. Walking will take us twelve hours and our target has had a four-hour headstart so we will fly to catch up to him. Let's move," Sirzechs said spreading his twelve wings taking off. The others followed suit and they quickly made their way across the barrier with the Greco Roman pantheon and the girls' boyfriends piling onto Artemis' chariot.

* * *

**Unnamed Cemetery, Wyoming, USA, 6:45 PM**

* * *

Lance had made it to the cemetery tired and ragged. He had taken breaks and practically wiped out the deer population of the forest but he made it. Just one more thing to do and then his sister would be healed.

Lance approached a massive mausoleum with a massive iron door. At the door's center was a massive pentagram with a sun emblazoned around it.

_I could think of more inconspicuous doors, _he thought as he pulled out the Colt and approached the door. His body stiffened when he felt it. That all too familiar miasma signature. He turned around to see a massive group of people arrive. His eyes grew wide when he saw her.

"You! Give up and hand over the gun!" the red-haired man said as he formed a black and red ball. The others around him pulled out their weapons and began to ready spells as they surrounded him. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of them.

"How about no? Oh, and you might wanna look down," he said as his eyes glowed purple. The ground shook as an army of earth golems erupted from the ground around them.

"Earthborn?" Percy said as he pulled his sword.

Issei shook his head. He trained his sights on Lance and immediately took off charging through the army.

"ISSEI!" Grayfia yelled as she saw Issei charge headfirst into the army. She jumped out of the way as golem slammed its fist down on her.

Lance walked up to the door and prepared to insert the gun into the barrel sized hole when he was tackled to the ground by Issei.

"I'm going to kill you for hurting my sister you bastard!" Issei roared as his eyes turned black.

Lance felt a trickle of fear but it was quickly squashed by his arrogance. "I guess I didn't do a good job then. Maybe this time, I should have a little fun with her before offing her huh? I wonder how tight she is?"

Issei lost it at his words as he picked Lance up and threw him across several gravestones making him land on the other side of the graveyard. Lance got up shakily and created a massive stone avatar and charged at Issei. He raised his stone arm and slammed it down on Issei causing dust to kick up obscuring him from view.

Lance smirked from inside the avatar thinking that Issei was dead. He might as well go and do it anyway. Of course, Nancy would never find out. He was doing this for her after all so why not have a little fun along the way? That and Issei's sister was a bombshell. He was brought out of his sick thoughts when he felt his avatar's arms being lifted. His eyes widened when he was blown back by a wave of dark fire. A demonic roar ripped through the silence of the night sky as a pillar of black and red energy shot into the night.

Irina sliced apart another golem. She dodged one attempting to sneak an attack on her and retaliated with a timed light bomb causing it to explode destroying a large portion of the cemetery. Suddenly, every hair on the back of her neck stood on end She turned to Issei's direction and saw a black and red dome explode into a massive pillar of black and red light. A roar emanated from what was Issei that sent chills down her spine.

"Issei!"

Lance's fear grew by the second as he heard heavy footsteps walk out of the crater. A figure shrouded in fire approached his broken avatar. The figure looked in no way like Issei. It had two pairs of massive draconic wings on its back. Its demonic head sported two long horns on top of its head and a second pair of ram-like horns surrounding the head at the jaw. Its baleful eyes glowed with an incandescent lava red while it bared its fangs at him. Its entire body appeared to be made of brimstone and covered in flames. Any exposed parts were covered in black and red square scales. Its reptilian feet sported sharp talons. The being kept its burning gaze on Lance before roaring once more and disappearing.

Lance's eyes widened when he saw it disappear. He felt intense pain as a force collided with his back shattering his lower lumbar robbing him of the ability to walk. He collided with the mausoleum door and unceremoniously slid down to the ground. Lance weakly looked up and saw the Colt next to him. Acting quickly, he raised a massive earthen dragon and commanded it to charge at the demonic being heading for him. Lance quickly shoved the gun into the hole and turned it hearing a clicking sound. His head was suddenly grabbed and he was lifted where he faced it. The being's flaming eyes stared into Lance's soul.

Seeing that there was no way he could win, he began to beg. "P-please don't kill me. Issei, you said that we should all get out of this together right?"

Issei cocked his head at Lance's words. Thinking his words had any effect, Lance continued.

"That's right! It wasn't my fault! It was that yellow-eyed bastard's fault! He did this. Got your sister hurt! Put us in that game! You should be attacking him not me!" Lance said while smiling. Seeing that Issei wasn't paying attention, Lance formed a knife made of darkness and shoved it towards Issei's heart. His eyes widened in fear when the knife shattered upon impact.

Issei knew his words were full of shit the minute he started to talk. The only reason Issei let him talk was to humor him. Sure some of the points he said were correct but, ultimately, he was still at fault. Mitsuki had died because of _him_, not Beelzebub. Issei heard two voices in his head that he hadn't heard from all day.

**|Whelp, this boy is annoying me! Just end him already!|** Tiamat said.

**[I agree with my wife. This boy is the reason you sold your soul. Kill him!]** Ddraig said. Issei nodded at their words mentally.

"H-hey mate! Take it easy! I was just testing… your reflexes?" he said weakly. Issei drove his fist into Lance's torso causing his ribs to shatter. Lance coughed up blood as several of the fragments from his ribs punctured his stomach and lungs. He felt burning as his stomach acid began to eat away at his internal organs.

He attempted to crawl away when he saw Issei land in front of him. He looked up crying in pain and fear as Issei grabbed him by the air and slammed his face into the ground. Issei lifted Lance's head again and saw that his left eye had swollen shut and his nose was broken. Deciding that it wasn't over, Issei grabbed Lance by the throat and held him. Issei grabbed Lance's left arm and began to slowly pull.

"AGGGGHHHHHHH!" Lance screamed in pain as Issei pulled slowly then ripped off his left arm in a swift fluid motion. Blood spurted from the stump and he watched as Issei threw his left arm carelessly to the side. Seeing Issei grab his other arm, Lance began to beg once more.

"PLEASE NO! AGGHHH" Issei had ignored his pleas and ripped off the right one.

Seeing that Lance was utterly broken, Issei decided to end it. He poured Miasma into Lance and a red light began to emanate from Lance's eyes and mouth. Lance briefly screamed in pain before a flash of red light silenced him. Issei dropped the corpse of Lance McCarthy. His eyes were incinerated and his organs liquified as blood poured out from the holes where his arms used to be and his eyes and mouth.

Issei lifted his foot and slammed it onto Lance's skull causing it to splatter like a grape. He sighed and exhaled releasing his form. Seeing the carnage he had wrought upon Lance, Issei's eyes widened in horror. He ran over to one of the tombstones and vomited. After he finished, he turned to see his friends looking at him in worry and the others looked at him in fear.

"I always knew you were a monster!" Tatsuya said as he clutched his bruised arm.

"Shut up!" Mitsuki yelled causing him to go silent. Mitsuki turned to see Irina walk over to Issei and cup his cheek.

Issei jumped at the gesture and saw Irina's worried eyes.

"Issei, it's okay. He had it coming," she tried to comfort him. Issei nodded but the image Lance's mutilated corpse would be forever stuck in his head.

The sound of gears shifting brought everyone out of their stupor. Issei's eyes grew wide. He had forgotten to retrieve the Colt from Lance. Everyone watched in horror as the emblem slowly put itself together.

"TAKE COVER!" Risa yelled as everyone began to raise a barrier.

Issei ran over to the mausoleum and pulled the Colt out of the lock in an attempt to stop the process. It didn't work. The locks continued to undo themselves with each click bringing the door closer to opening. Banging sounds could be now heard from behind the doors.

"Aniki!" he heard Mitsuki yell and saw her and the others waving at him to get behind a barrier being produced by Lisa, Rossweisse, Akeno, Rias, Sona, and Le Fay. Issei immediately dove into the barrier.

The group watched as the doors flew open and a massive torrent of black smoke shot into the night sky. A shockwave of flaming energy exploded from the opened doors nearly shattering their barriers. Lisa summoned a battle standard and slammed the pole into the grass.

"**LUMINOSITÉ ETERNELLE!**" a massive barrier of pure light surrounded the entire group protecting them from the shockwave.

The shockwave traveled outward from the graveyard. Lightning raced across the sky as massive storm clouds appeared over the entire midwestern US. The Enochian runes on the railroads glowed as they struggled to contain the massive amount of demons that were attempting to break free. Eventually, the runes burned out and the entire railroad system was melted creating a massive molten star that could be seen from space.

Issei watched with wide eyes as demons flew across the sky and into the world.

"No…," he said. He turned his gaze back to the open gate, where demonic beasts, damned spirits, and demons themselves crawled out. "WE HAVE TO CLOSE THE DOORS!" he yelled over the demonic screeching. They all nodded and raced to the doors.

"All of you, cover us while we close it!" Sirzechs yelled as he and his fellow Satans along with the Greco-Roman Gods and Risa pushed with all of their strength slowly moving the heavy iron doors.

Eden Squad, Vali Team, Sitri Peerage, Bael Peerage, and Gremory Peerage surrounded the team closing the doors with the Seven Demigods.

"Looks like we're DxD again huh?" Issei said as he summoned Boosted Gear and cocking the Colt.

"Looks like it," Vali said summoming Divine Dividing.

"And it looks like the Three Emperors are back together again huh?"Mitsuki said summoning Telos Karma.

DxD trained their senses for any oncoming beings that would attempt to thwart their efforts to close the gate.

"GUYS, LOOK ALIVE!" Issei yelled as he felt the Miasma signature of Beelzebub getting closer. His signature still sent shivers up Issei's spine. How can someone's energy feel so vile and dark?

"Hey guys," a voice called out in between them. They all jumped apart from each other and saw Beelzebub standing in the middle with a menacing smile. Issei quickly aimed the Colt at Beelzebub and prepared to pull the trigger only for the Colt to fly out of his hand and into Beelzebub's.

"Are you old enough to be playing with this?" he said mockingly. He raised his hand slightly and sent them all flying backward. Issei crashed headfirst into a tombstone. Issei sat up clutching his bleeding head. He suddenly felt himself get pinned to the stone by an unseen force. He looked up and saw Beelzebub standing over him looking at him with those mocking yellow eyes.

"I knew you had it in you Issei. It's too bad really. That you have to die," Beelzebub said.

Issei glared at him before spitting in his face.

"Second time you've done that now but no matter before you die, I'll let you live your final year watching me torture all your friends. Especially that little angel you seem to hold dear in your heart. She's going to become my little plaything. I wonder how good her screams will sound," Beelzebub said. His question was answered by Issei ramming his fist into his face forcing the demon to drop the Colt and release the others. Beelzebub crashed into the forest causing the entire area to shake.

"No one touches them! Especially her!" Issei said as flames surrounded his form. Lava like veins appeared on his arms and neck as he called upon his Miasma to engulf him.

"**Demon Soul: Dragon of the Pit!**" Issei assumed the same form he used to fight Lance. His friends followed his example and all entered their strongest forms.

"Ready for this Hyoudou?" Vali said in his **Diabolos Dragon Lucifer.**

Issei nodded. Behind him, his entire team was ready and waiting in their strongest forms. They readied themselves as the ground began to shake. A massive demonic being with four arms and massive dragon-like wings towered above them. Its lower half was of a horse with a long whip-like tail. His head had a long spiked chin and two large curved horns on top. The being spoke.

**"Bad choice you insolent worm! I don't care what the Princess thinks anymore! I will kill you right here, right now!"** Beelzebub roared.

The final battle against Beelzebub had begun.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 3287**

**File Name: Reapers**

**Type: Death Harbingers**

**File: Reapers are a race of beings who were created by and serve MAVETH. They primarily live in a realm that exists within and is parallel to the Physical and Spiritual Realms known as the Veil. These beings are not to be confused with the beings of the same name who serve the Greek God Hades. Reapers exist primarily alongside their counterparts, [CLASSIFIED], and play a role in the eternal cycle of Life and Death. The most powerful beings of this race are the Archreapers**

**GPS Ranking: Varies**

**Prey: N/A**

**Weaknesses: Unknown as Reapers are rarely seen in the Physical or Spiritual Realms**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: Creature File 666**

**File Name: Demons**

**Type: Antithesis Existence to Angels**

**File: Demons are an ancient race of beings that were created by the Archangel Lucifer shortly after the formation of the Solar System. They were intended to be the guardians of Physical Creation. Demons reside in a plane of existence known as Hell which is a dimension that exists parallel to the Physical and Spiritual Realms.**

**GPS Ranking: Varies, strongest is EX Rank Deity Class**

**Prey: N/A**

**Weaknesses: Exorcisms, Enochian Weapons, Holy Water (Possibly), Beings of similar or greater power as the demon in question**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: These guys are a pain.**

**Isran McConnell: I know.**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Beware of the Princess/Firstborn.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 1096**

**File Name: Teysara**

**GPS Ranking: Unknown, possibly at least A-Rank Deity Class**

**File: Teysara is an Archreaper and the most commonly known one. She is often seen by those who are near death ready to guide them to their afterlives. Other than that, not much is known about her.**

**Notes:**

**Mitsuki Hyoudou: She apparently likes to be called Teysa.**

**End File**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Emiya-Excalibur says: **A **sister dying in her brother's arms.**

**...**

**...**  
**Big Brother Rage Mode: ACTIVATE! And since Issei is some-what part dragon with two powerful dragons in his soul... yea Big Brother Rage Mode plus Dragon Rage Mode... well it looks like America is about to get a new Grand Canyon or creator in this case.**

**I really hope you have him fall into a dragon rage, even if it is only a brief one. That is one of neat points of DxD for me. That dragons legitimately have rage buttons if they get pissed and or someone royal fucks with them.**

**Anyway, can't wait to see the outcome.**

**Well, the moon got a makeover and there is a new ravine and several new lakes in Montana. Never mess with a big brother who houses two dragons. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed his rage mode which triggered twice!**

**Scrumblenut says: Huh. Plot twist. Or twist of even that. I kinda expected something bad to happen to Mitsuki, but I wasn't expecting this. If Lance wasn't a psychotic piece of shit, I would feel sorry for him. But I don't. The chapter went well, it helps the fact that he couldn't use the Boosted Gear, meaning he had to rely on his other powers. I would like to see him continue to grow with them every here and there, to show what progress he makes. Also, nice name of the chapter, whether my note had anything to do with it, I can only assume. Take care.**

**I didn't feel sorry either. I'm also happy that you liked the fact that Issei couldn't use Boosted Gear. I've noticed that in the anime he sort of relies on it too much. I do hope you like his new form. It's essentially his "true" form. No Boosted Gear enhancements whatsoever.**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: I am very interested in seeing how much issei will develop further his new abilities in conjuction with the boosted gear. Glad you didn't take the lazy route that most writers would do and have rias' parents siding with her asinine choices too. And with mitsuki dying in her brother's arms...well the greatest heroes always have to burden the most pain sometimes, also i expect lance to be in a world of pain that would make even demons think thrice of inflicting. Can't express enough gratitude for your work crimson, looking forward for your next update.**

**Well, Lance died a brutal death. I mean, I wanna ask. How did you guys feel about Lance trying to sneak one over Issei? Well, anyway, to me, it felt very satisfying having Lance die that way after I wrote the part where he threatened to rape Mitsuki. I threw up in my mouth writing that part.**

**sykartracer says: You're right, I do hate you. Oh wait, no I don't. While I'm sad Mitsuki was killed (I'd bet canon Issei's porn collection that Lucy revives her to make her Issei happy), I understand that someone important to Issei had to die for him to get that Dragon-Rage ultra-boost (I was betting on Irina, to be honest) that he needs to win. I hope Ophis gets to bitch-slap somebody over that, and claim something about Issei being part of her clutch, some other dragon-kin word, and that to harm him is to anger her. Or have her explode in front of Venelana, revealing everything. I'm just throwing guesses out, and am waiting to see what's next. Maybe "New Moon Artemis" can go into her sister mode and rant about someone making "her Isse-nii-chan" cry.**

**I'm going to stop guessing, this review is probably getting too long.**

**I don't have Issei's porn stash. You can have Midnighverse Issei's porn stash though!~ You were right though but it wasn't to make him happy. The reasons are much more complex as it shall be revealed much later. And no, your reviews are never too long. I honestly find long reviews nice which means you guys have a lot to say though, fanfiction dot net might limit you.**

**OeschnerC says: Ohh this could be very bad, or very good mattering if Beelzebub shows up an issei kills him.**

**The final battle between Issei and Beelzebub will begin next chapter so tune in!~**

**AnimeFan0216 says: Oh boy, Lance is definitely gonna die the next time Issei meet him. I will expect a satisfying revenge here this boy is on the same level as Diodora in my book. I would understand if he is doing it for his sister but to enjoy the suffering of others, that is another thing and it must not go unpunished. I hope Mitsuki will come back to life no matter in what way.**

**Well, I think he died a worse death than Diodora. I hoped that satisfied you. Also, be careful what you wish for, hehehe...**

**Ouroborosdragon (Guest) says: ****I kinda expect issei to sell his soul to resurrect Mitsuki like what dean did for Sam, with all the supernatural references I don't mind but there needs to be consequences for issei if does it. Otherwise all the tension, suspense and stakes goes out the window because characters keep coming back or they are always safe from death like what happened with dragon ball, supernatural and GOT.**

**Huh, you were right! I'm sorry if anyone is bothered with all of these elements from Supernatural. I'll try to tone it down in future chapters. But yeah, Issei got the same deal as Dean. One year to live then it's bye-bye Issei. A soul for a soul as Thanos would say. And no, people stay dead will stay dead in my fic. If they do get brought back, it'll be a one-time thing and then they die forever unless if they're needed in the plot, then I'll keep them alive and just have the fatal shot miss a vital organ by a 1 nanometer or something.**

**Anyway, that's it for the review replies.**

**Issei's new/true demon form is based on the Sin Devil Trigger from Devil May Cry. Dante's to be more specific. I just liked it and thought that it fits. More of the form's power will be revealed next chapter in the fight against Beelzebub but you already saw Advent which is a high-speed movement skill. It's unnamed in here but I might as well tell you guys that it was Advent. Also, Issei, ya dumbnut. You sold your soul for Mitsuki! Irina knows and the Archangels know. Can't you guys wait and see what will happen when Mitsuki finds out what her brother did? And regarding the names of the Archangels, I used the nodes of the Sefirot from Kabbalah Mysticism for their other names that they're known by. DA'AT is Azazel and DA'AT means knowledge which fits him. BINAH is Azrael. BINAH means Understanding and I feel it fits her role as Angel of Death. Michael is HOD which means Splendor. It's what his mythical counterpart governs on the actual Sefirot. And finally, Lucifer is KETER/QLIPPAH. KETER means Crown and is the Infinite Light which fits her moniker of Morningstar and Light Bringer. QLIPPAH is the opposite of the Sefirot and is the Tree of Evil. I'm using Jewish Kabbalah which features three nodes on the QLIPPAH. Hah, get it. Three nodes. Ellie's alternate form is a three-headed dragon. If you're wondering where I got her nickname of Ellie, Lucifer's name as an angel was Helel. I just took the El part of the name and turned it into Ellie. You guys like the part where I was about to tell you the Princess/Firstborn's name. And also, Vali and Mitsuki are dating now! I'll put in an omake sometime later as to how _this _all started. Anyway, that's it for now! Remember, review/fav/follow if you liked it! I'll try to keep the Supernatural elements to a minimum if that bothers or annoys anyone. And don't forget, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~**


	24. The Lord of Hunger

**Pyre: Hey guys, big reveal chapter today. First of all, the fight between Beelzebub and everyone else will happen this chapter so I hope it's not too bad. This fight scene is literally a majority of the chapter so enjoy! So without any more interruptions from me, let's get on with it. Mysterious Woman hit it!**

**Mysterious Woman: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Cavalry Cemetery, Wyoming, 8:45 PM, February 25, 2020, Current Time: 3 minutes and 3 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Beelzebub spread his massive wings and roared shattering the silence of the night sky over the state of Wyoming. Cracks appeared on the earth and bursts of fire erupted from the ground around Beelzebub Everyone covered their ears as an unholy ear-piercing roar came from the massive demonic entity that stood in front of them.

Upon hearing the ear-shattering noise coming from the direction of the others, the Satans and Olympians looked over to a massive demonic being that towered over the tree line.

"We need to close this door and help them out!" Serafall yelled as she pushed against the overwhelming force of the number of beings shooting out. The beings grunted as they moved the door inch by inch closer to being shut.

"I didn't expect him to be that big," Issei said as he stared at Beelzebub's charging form.

"We need to keep him away from the Satans," Vali told him as he prepared an attack. He summoned his Dividing Faeries causing them to surround him in a defensive formation.

"Alright, everyone! We're playing keep-away with that big guy over there!" Issei said pointing to Beelzebub who was now being engaged by Team Vali. "Any ideas?" Everyone turned to Sona and Ingvild causing them to become confused.

"What?" Ingvild said from atop her dragon.

"Um, it's just you've come up with all of our team strategies sooo…" Mitsuki began.

"What Mitsuki-senpai is saying is that you're the team strategist," Gasper finished.

Ingvild deadpanned at them before sighing. "Alright, Sitri-san, tag in," Ingvild said tapping Sona on the back.

Sona looked at her with an irritated expression. "Alright, we use a standard formation until you guys can get me some new information on Beelzebub's capabilities. Issei, Mitsuki, you two and Vali play as our forward charges. Asia, Momo, anyone with good healing capabilities, you're on support. Everyone else. Be as annoying as possible," she said pushing up her glasses. They nodded and all flew to assist Team Vali.

Vali was knocked out of the sky by Beelzebub's tail causing him to crash into the woods. Vali stood up shakily. The thing could hit like a train. He saw Mitsuki and Issei land in front of him.

"So…" Issei said. Mitsuki smiled a knowing smile at Vali.

"We're using _that_ aren't we?" Vali asked despite knowing the answer.

"Yup!" the twins said sporting shit-eating grins on their faces. Vali couldn't help but chuckle at their antics.

Beelzebub rampaged around the forest. He turned to see the massive two-tailed Kuroka attempt to pounce on him. He caught her by her throat with one of his arms and slammed her on the ground causing her to scream in pain. Arthur and Sairaorg appeared behind his head and combined their attacks creating an explosion that shook the forest.

The two hovered over the demon as the smoke cleared and their eyes widened when there wasn't even a scratch on the back of the demon's neck.

Beelzebub let go of Kuroka who was close to unconsciousness and turned around. He opened his mouth and let loose a torrent of black and yellow flames that burned through the night sky. Sairaorg and Arthur barely dodged the deadly stream. The torrent of fire traveled for miles vaporizing the plant life. After the flames died, the path which they traveled was reduced to a molten trench that continued into the distance.

He felt a sting hit him in the wing. Beelzebub turned his gaze to Rias and Akeno. He smiled a twisted smile upon seeing his former vessel.

"**Hello, little crow! Come crawling back to me I see**," Beelzebub said as he walked over to them. Akeno narrowed her eyes and entered her Fallen Angel form. Lightning struck her and she sprouted three more pairs of black fallen angel wings. Akeno raised both her hands channeling Taint towards them. She glared hatefully at Beelzebub as lightning arced across her entire body.

"Go to Hell!" Akeno yelled as she formed a massive red magic circle and fired a massive beam of lightning at Beelzebub. Beelzebub looked amused at her attempt to attack. He formed a large black sphere in one of his palms and fired a beam of black energy. Rias and Akeno were forced to dodge as the beam obliterated miles of forest.

Percy shook the ground with his Earthshaker powers causing Beelzebub to look down at him. He raised his foot and attempted to squash him only for two bolts of lightning to hit in the chest causing him to pause. He raised his hand and lifted a massive building-sized chunk out of the very earth and slammed it down on the demigods who barely escaped thanks to Percy.

Kuisha and Tsubaki appeared above Beelzebub and unleashed a massive combination attack on the Prince. Beelzebub raised one of his other arms and completely absorbed the entire blast. He stretched his palm and fired another beam of energy. From the other direction, Gasper transformed into his Balance Breaker and grabbed Kiba.

"**Ready senpai!**" Gasper said as he reared back.

"Ready!" Kiba said. Gasper took a step back and then threw Kiba straight at Beelzebub. Kiba traveled through the air at breakneck speeds.

"**Dragon Knights of the Holy Priest!**" Kiba was covered in his dragon knight armor and increased his speed. He summoned Gram and Balmung and poured taint into them.

"**Combination Sword Technique:** **Heavenly Dragon Downfall of the Sun!**" he slashed both swords in an X-slash at Beelzebub's unprotected leg leaving a shallow cut.

Beelzebub looked down when he felt something cut him and saw Kiba hovering near his rear left leg. He growled and his eyes glowed. Kiba felt himself being thrown and he flew through several trees.

Beelzebub smiled before turning around and grabbing a massive dragon head. An eight-headed dragon with Sona and Ingvild on top of it preparing magic circles. Ingvild fired a red energy beam while Sona fired a blue one hitting Beelzebub in the face causing him to let go of the dragon as Sona's attack hit him right in the eye. Beelzebub roared as smoke poured out of the wound and began to repair the eye.

Taking advantage of the momentary break, Sairaorg entered his **Breakdown the Beast** form and slammed his touki covered fist down on Beelzebub's horn knocking the demon off its cloven feet.

Beelzebub fell down shaking the entire forest. He grit his teeth in anger. These pests! How dare they! He was Beelzebub, Prince of Hell, son of the Great Dragon! Everyone else was an insect compared to him. Beelzebub summoned dark aura and covered himself in it.

"**Night Daze**" an outward shockwave of red energy exploded from Beelzebub.

"GET DOWN!" Rossweisse said as she formed a massive barrier around them. The barrier shattered instantly. Eric immediately ran over and grabbed all of them before teleporting out.

* * *

Gremory and Sitri looked impassively at a massive dome of red light off in the distance. Sitri sat back lazily polishing his halberd.

"Milady, are you sure we shouldn't assist Lord Beelzebub?" Gremory asked a woman who sat looking at the explosion.

The woman looked at Gremory causing her to freeze in fear. "No," she said as she focused her blue eyes back in the direction of the fight. "He's dug his own grave the minute he defied my orders," she said as her eyes turned into a menacing red color.

* * *

Beelzebub looked at his destroyed surroundings and roared in triumph thinking that he had killed them all.

"Hey, fatass!" Beelzebub whirled around and saw Eric and Lisa standing at the graveyard. Eric had silver and red gauntlets and greaves with small thrusters on them. The greaves had small saw blades on them while his gauntlets had small extendable drills.

Lisa stood next to him with her battle standard and sword drawn. "Eric," she said.

Eric looked at her with a nod. Eric drew Punisher and tossed it into the air and kicked it in the pommel sending it flying straight towards Beelzebub. Beelzebub deflected the blade with his fingernails. A rune of the sword glowed and Eric appeared next to the sword and slashed Beelzebub leaving a small cut on his cheek. As Beelzebub swiped his claw ready to bisect Eric, a golden barrier surrounded Eric and absorbed most of the impact before shattering sending Eric flying back.

"Tch!" Lisa pointed the blade of her sword, La Pucelle, at Beelzebub and fired a massive flower-shaped blast of golden fire. Beelzebub turned to see the fire blast approaching and raised his hand absorbing it.

Beelzebub laughed mockingly at their attempts of attacking. As he breathed in ready to unleash another torrent of hellfire, a large ball of blue energy impacted the side of his head causing him to turn his head sending the torrent of fire in a different direction.

Beelzebub turned his massive head and felt two things impact his chin sending his head back and skidding back a few feet.

Beelzebub rubbed the bottom of his jaw and turned his gaze to see three people hovering across from him. He growled like an animal as he glared hatefully at the three who dared to attack him.

Mitsuki hovered in her **Grand Design Form** with her arms coated in blue energy.

Vali was next to her in his **Diabolos Dragon Lucifer** with his Dividing Faeries on standby.

Issei hovered between them in his **Demon Soul: Abaddon** with his wings directing red energy and focusing it in a ball in front of him.

Mitsuki focused and willed the blue energy to become red.

A cannon muzzle appeared on Vali's chest and began to charge a silvery-white and black aura.

"**OBLIVION WING!"**

"**NEGATIVE KARMA BALL!"**

"**SATAN LUCIFER SMASHER!"**

"**COMBINATION TECHNIQUE: UNHOLY TRINITY!"**

A black and red beam of energy, a red ball of energy, and a black and white onslaught of energy blasts all flew from their respective casters merging into an iridescent multi-colored energy blast and towards Beelzebub. Beelzebub's eyes widened as the force of all three blasts pushed him off his feet and backward for several thousand feet. After the attack traveled for several miles, a pillar of light flashed briefly before a massive explosion rocked the entire area as tremors traveled for several hundred miles.

Issei, Mitsuki, and Vali watched as a massive mushroom cloud formed off in the distance. A rush of air flew towards them as they saw Beelzebub in the air with his massive wings beating and flying to them. His massive form smashed into the ground shaking it. His body was covered in only a few slight burns.

"**You'll regret that you insolent fools!**" Beelzebub said as he raised all four of his arms and formed four black energy spheres. As he prepared to fire them, a hail of silver energy arrows rained down from the night sky and began to barrage his entire body. Beelzebub swiped his arm creating a kinetic wave deflecting all of the arrows. He growled when he saw Artemis with her bow out and another arrow notched and ready. Beelzebub roared and swiped his tail towards her. He felt an immense pain when he saw his tail get cut off. His eyes widened when he saw him.

"**YOU!**" he yelled as his tail began to reform. Hephaestus stood next to Artemis with his falchions ready and waiting. Ares and Athena appeared next to them with Athena raising the Aegis. Ares jumped on it and Athena launched him to Beelzebub. Ares summoned a massive broadsword and slashed it across Beelzebub's face catching the Demon lord off guard and leaving a cut across his face.

Beelzebub breathed in and unleashed a massive torrent of fire towards the group of gods. A massive wall of ice momentarily blocked the flames and an onslaught of red energy spheres hit Beelzebub leaving dents on his tough scaly hide. The Four Satans and Grayfia hovered next to the gods staring Beelzebub down. Risa appeared next to Sirzechs.

"Risa, go assist the kids," he said to Risa, who nodded at the order of the Maou Lucifer.

"On it," she said as she flickered out of existence.

Sirzechs turned his attention back to Beelzebub, who was currently staring at them with amusement in his eyes.

"**Do you remember the last time we fought worm?**" Beelzebub said as his yellow eyes began to glow.

Sirzechs swallowed the spit in his mouth and began to enter his Power of Destruction Form. "Yeah, but that was then and this now," he said as he fully transformed. He raised his palm and formed several bullet sized spheres of his PoD. "**Ruin the Extinct!**" the energy balls followed the command of their caster as they swarmed Beelzebub and began to barrage him causing the massive demon to begin to swing his hands like he was trying to bat away flies.

Ajuka used the **Kankara Formula** and began to increase the power of the spheres. He formed a green magic circle and fired a massive energy blast at Beelzebub.

Annoyed by their attacks, Beelzebub immediately opened his mouth. Inside his maw, a black vortex formed and began to create a powerful vacuum swallowing all of their attacks.

"He's absorbing all of our attacks," Serafall said as she watched him basically eat the Power of Destruction.

Sirzechs nodded. This was bad. Most of their attacks were energy-based. They had come up with a way to get past that energy absorption ability of his.

"Perhaps we could catch him off his guard," Athena suggested as she readied her spear.

"Or we could play the numbers game," Artemis said as she notched another arrow.

"Either way, none of us possess the power to kill him. Issei does, however, possess a weapon that can kill him," Hephaestus said as he summoned several floating swords. He began to regret leaving _it_ at his temple. That would have been really useful.

"Tch! I can't believe I'm agreeing with Hepatitis over here but this guy kicked Indra's ass, and Indra's on par with if not greater in power than dad," Ares said as he saw Beelzebub begin to lumber towards them.

"We need to give Issei an opening to use the Colt on Beelzebub," Falbium said as he dodged a tree that Beelzebub had thrown at them.

"Right," Sirzechs said before he charged towards Beelzebub followed by the others.

* * *

Risa appeared next to the group startling them.

"Risa-sama!" Irina said. "You nearly gave us a heart attack!"

"My apologies. The Satans and the Olympians have devised a plan of attack that they relayed to me," she said with her ears twitching. "We need to distract Beelzebub in order to give Issei a chance to use the Colt on him."

They all looked down. Annabeth spoke up. "Lady Risa, Beelzebub's skin is extremely durable. Even our strongest attacks barely left any scratches."

"She's right. A combined technique with Gram and Balmung did leave a scratch but it wasn't deep enough to draw blood," Kiba said.

"He can also absorb all of our attacks making magic users like us useless in this fight," Akeno told her. Risa looked down deep in thought. Her mind replayed the entire battle inside her head. Risa's eyes widened in surprise at that one portion of the battle.

"He has a limit," she said. Risa turned to Issei, Vali, and Mitsuki. "How did you three get past his absorption ability?"

Issei and Vali blinked while Mitsuki cocked her head to the side in confusion. "How did we do it?" Mitsuki asked. Vali looked at his girlfriend and back to Risa.

"Maybe he has a limit… I need to test something. Issei, both of us will fire an attack all at once okay?" Vali said as he readied a white and black energy sphere. Issei nodded and formed a ball of black and red flaming energy.

"NOW!" Vali fired his energy attack followed by Issei's. Beelzebub lazily turned his gaze towards the attack and raised one of his hands. Vali's attack grew smaller before completely vanishing into Beelzebub's hand. He smiled at their futile attempts only for his eyes to grow wide when Issei's blast hit him in the face. He roared in anger.

Everyone saw it and their eyes grew wide. Vali smirked. "It seems he can only absorb one attack for each arm and his maw. Meaning that, of six attacks, five attacks will get absorbed and the sixth one will hit. He can also only absorb attacks that he can directly see meaning that if you hide an attack behind another, there's a good chance that attack will hit as well," he explained. "Okay so here's the plan…" they all huddled around Vali to listen in.

* * *

Beelzebub swatted Ares out of the air and grabbed Athena in one of his hands and began to crush her slowly. He felt immense orgasmic pleasure when he heard the goddess scream in agony as he slowly crushed her bones to dust. Out of nowhere, he was punched in the face by a massive ice fist forcing him to drop Athena. Hephaestus appeared underneath and caught Athena, who was almost unconscious.

The Lord of Hunger looked towards Serafall and Grayfia who had combined their ice magic to create a massive hulking avatar. Beelzebub snarled and engaged them in combat. The fight lasted only a few minutes with Grayfia and Serafall being forced to abandon ship as Beelzebub ripped the avatar into two.

He growled and saw Sirzechs, Falbium, and Ajuka flying around his face. He flapped his wings creating a mighty gale that tore apart his surroundings. Lightning rained down from the sky as Beelzebub's eyes glowed. He raised all four of his palms and fired a black bolt of lightning in three Satans' directions. The three barely dodged with Sirzech's right arm getting burned. The lightning bolts traveled off into the distance before a flash of light was seen and a shockwave was felt.

"Get clear!" Artemis yelled as she charged an arrow full of silver energy. "**Million Rain!**" a hail of silver arrows rained down from the sky and hit Beelzebub.

The demon lord covered himself in his wings to defend himself from the attack. These pests just wouldn't let up. Who were they to stand before him? He existed before they did. He had the right to make Creation his! It was the very will of the Great Dragon herself! His eyes glowed an eerie yellow and he spread his wings with such force that all the arrows were repelled. Artemis's eyes grew wide as she raised her arms to cover her face from the wind.

Beelzebub unlatched his jaw and unleashed the biggest stream of fire at the poor goddess. Artemis watched helplessly as the stream of fire traveled towards her. She closed her eyes and prepared for death when she felt someone grab her. Artemis opened her eyes and saw herself being carried bridal style by who she assumed was Issei.

Issei looked down and gave her a fanged smile. "Close one, huh, Artemis-sama?"

Artemis turned red and glared at him. "Unhand me at once you cretin!" Issei landed and put her down and spread his wings to rejoin the battle. But not before he heard Artemis mumble.

"T-thank you…"

He hid his smile and flew off back towards the battle. Irina fell into flight with him. She looked at him with a blank look. He looked at her confused. "What?"

"She likes you," Irina said with a small smile as she and Issei flew back to assist their friends.

"Really?" Irina could only mentally facepalm at his denseness. She focused her attention back on the battle as she flew up to dodge Beelzebub's attempt to grab her.

Issei saw Beelzebub's arm and charged to it spinning like a drill and knocking the arm back. He pointed his wings to Beelzebub and fired off spike after spike at the Demon Lord. Beelzebub swung his other arm swatting Issei out of the sky and into the forest floor. Irina saw this and formed two light swords. She nosedived to one of Beelzebub's arms and began to spin like a saw riding up Beelzebub's arm leaving a long gash as she spun across his arm.

Ingvild and Gasper watched as Irina and Issei fought Beelzebub. "Gasper, I need you to draw his attention from me and keep it on you guys," she said. Gasper nodded and leaped to Beelzebub's chest in one bound and delivered a devastating punch catching his attention.

"Rossweisse!" the valkyrie nodded and formed a space-time seal several thousand meters above Beelzebub. "**Comet Storm**", a hail of comets rained down from the sky all targeting Beelzebub. The demon looked up and saw comets raining from the sky. He formed flames in one of his hands and swung it creating a wave of fire that intercepted the comets.

Ingvild, seeing that he was distracted, summoned **Blood Dragon Ascension** and fired **Sanguine Annihilation** hitting the demon lord on the back leaving a burn. They quickly jumped into the air as Beelzebub threw one of the comets at them telekinetically.

Fenrir and Kuroka both ran up and bit down on Beelzebub's leg. Due to Fenrir's reputed fangs ability to bypass defense, his fangs sunk into the flesh drawing blood causing him to be an annoyance to the demon. Wrapping his tail around Fenrir's body, he slammed the God Slaying Wolf against the forest floor over and over before Kuroka fired a dark violet orb at his tail causing him to let go of an extremely injured Fenrir.

Beelzebub's wounds had long since healed and he prepared to slam his palm down on Kuroka only for it to be struck by fire and lightning. Le Fay and Akeno charged up another spell along with Rias, Sona, Tsubaki, and Kuisha. The six simultaneously fired.

Beelzebub absorbed five of the spells with Rias's spell, **Light of Ruin**, hitting him in the shoulder leaving a sting. He roared in rage and called lightning down from the sky to strike them. Lisa appeared in front of them and raised her battle standard creating a massive golden barrier that stood against the onslaught. The barrier shattered after the next fifteen strikes but completely missed as the targets' bodies flickered.

Mitsuki landed next to them staring Beelzebub down. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my brother," she said glaring with intense hatred at the demon lord as he walked towards them.

He laughed a deep guttural laugh. "**HAHAHA! And how will you do that Little Girl? Die and have your brother sell his soul for your resurrection?**" he said mockingly.

Mitsuki froze confused at his words. She felt uneasy about what he said. She didn't die, did she? She was just unconscious from being hurt by that bastard, Lance. "What you mean by that?" she yelled pointing **Telos Karma** at him.

Irina, who heard the conversation, landed next to Mitsuki. "Mitsuki, he's just taunting you. Don't listen to him," Irina urged as she tried to get Mitsuki to stop listening.

"**HAH! Me lie? About this? Never! Listen up, little girl. When you went to rescue your pathetic brother, one of the Children, who died oh-so brutally, tried to backstab your brother. You seeing this shoved him out of the way and was killed by the attack. And I mean dead. There is no way that Twilight Healing Wielder can heal a nearly destroyed heart! And here comes the best part!**" everyone was listening with horror at Beelzebub's words. "**He sold his soul to bring you back! Isn't that hilarious! Your sacrifice meant nothing! He's going to die anyway! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**" Beelzebub's mocking laughter was heard. Mitsuki stared at the demon with wide broken eyes. She had died? And Issei had sold her soul to bring her back? Mitsuki slowly turned her head to her twin who couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes. It was all the confirmation Mitsuki needed. Forcing the anger she felt back down, Mitsuki fired a blue ball of energy at Beelzebub's head completely surprising him and breaking one of his horns. He roared in pain as he lost a horn.

"Your words mean nothing to me," Mitsuki said as she glared at him. "So you can take your useless attempt at undercutting and shove it up your mother's ass!" she yelled.

Beelzebub bristled at the perceived disrespect Mitsuki had for the Great Dragon.

"**YOU DARE MOCK THE GREAT DRAGON YOU INSECT!**" he roared as he brought down one of his fists onto her. Mitsuki brought her arms up to shield herself and closed her eyes. Feeling nothing, she opened her eyes and saw that Beelzebub's fist was stopped by the combined strength of Issei and Vali.

"Mitsuki…" Issei began trying to talk to his twin sister.

"Not now, Aniki. We'll talk later. Right now, we have a fly to swat," she said as she charged her power. Issei nodded and his flaming aura began to grow in size but suddenly petered out. His form dropped and he was in his human form once again.

"A time limit now of all times! What kind of shit is this!?" he yelled as his fist shook in rage. Beelzebub laughed even harder at their situation.

"**Now do you understand? You had no hope of winning in the first place!**" he said as he looked down on them.

"Don't count on it," Vali said as he prepared to attack. "Issei still has one more thing with him."

**[Boost!]** Issei appeared in front of Beelzebub's face and slammed his gauntlet covered fist into one of his fangs knocking it out of its place. Beelzebub's face turned to the side from the force of the blow.

**[Issei, you're almost at your limit due to your body not being used to that new form. You can only apply fifteen more boosts before your body needs to expel the energy]** Ddraig said.

"_Don't worry. I can still use __**Calamity**__," _he said.

**|Don't give him an inch whelp. You hit him and you hit him hard for us|** Tiamat said as she began to channel power to Issei.

"**I'm amazed you can still stand much less fly,**" Beelzebub said as he saw Issei hovering in front of him.

"Well, I got something worth fighting for," Issei said as he stared the demon lord in the eyes.

"**Really? Them? The ones who betrayed you**," he said trying to discourage Issei.

"Not all of them did and for that I thank them, so don't even think you can touch them because you'll have to kill me first to get to them and I ain't dying!"Issei said. Everyone behind him smiled at the words. Beelzebub narrowed his eyes.

"**As you wish then**," Beelzebub extended his talons on his hands and swiped it down in an attempt to slice Issei to pieces. His talons met the blades of Xenovia and Kiba who jumped in front of Issei. Koneko jumped from behind him and brought her leg up kicking his hand away. Akeno and Rias fired a combination spell aimed at Beelzebub's hand hitting it. Gasper then grabbed the injured hand and brought it down on his transformed knee. A snapping sound was heard as Gasper broke one of Beelzebub's fingers.

"**GRAAAAAHHHHH!**" Beelzebub roared in pain as he looked at his now healing broken finger. "**YOU WORTHLESS WHORES!**" Beelzebub released a massive aura burst that destroyed the remaining woodland causing them all to go flying back.

As the dust cleared, Issei shakily got up and saw that the others were injured by the attack. Irina was holding her bleeding arm and Kiba was using Gram for support. His sister had blood flowing from her forehead but other than that she was fine. Gasper had a large gash on his leg and some cuts across his arms and chest. Ingvild's left arm was limp and bleeding suggesting that the force of the blast had broken her arm. Rossweisse was clutching her side and applying a small healing spell.

The others were in no better shape as some lay on the ground and others were leaning their backs on the stumps of the trees or rocks while healing themselves with whatever healing magic they knew.

Beelzebub's entire form glowed before he shifted back to his human form. Levitating in the air, he looked on at the defeated group in satisfaction. Now, he could finally take his time torturing them one by one in front of the Red Dragon Emperor and finally watch him break. He wanted to see it in his eyes. The very moment he broke.

Issei stood and looked defiantly at Beelzebub who had landed in front of him. The demon stretched out his arm and Issei was pinned to a rock unable to move. Beelzebub squatted down in front of him and looked into his eyes.

"You know you should have just accepted the offer. I'm sure there would have been room in the new world order for your little friends. Your sister would have never died and you would have never damned your soul to Hell," Beelzebub said.

"You sound like a broken record always playing the same tune," Issei said glaring at him.

"Oh come on, it wasn't too bad," Beelzebub said. "You could have had everything you ever wanted. Those boys dead. Done. Rias and the other girls as your sex slaves as revenge. Done. And your little angel, cat, and valkyrie would have ruled next to you as queens of Creation. With the Great Dragon's help, all that and more could have been possible. So, I'm curious. Why didn't you accept?" Beelzebub asked him. He was genuinely curious. After all, all beings no matter the race would have fallen to the temptation of power eventually so what was different with him?

"I don't know really. Maybe it's because if I accepted, I would have to look at your bitch face every day for the rest of eternity and I don't know about you but you look like someone had sex with the Jabberwocky, tried to get an abortion, failed, and had you," Issei said. Beelzebub narrowed his eyes and stood.

"Cute. Your defiance is cute so here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to torture your friends to death one by one until you give in. Deal? Okay, let's get started," Beelzebub said. He unleashed a stream of lightning towards Irina causing her to scream in pain.

"AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Irina screamed as the lightning began to burn her body.

"You know, I'm not putting in enough volts to permanently leave burns or kill but it will put her through hell and I got loads of other tricks up my sleeve," he said as he kept the onslaught of lightning going.

"STOP IT!" Issei said as Irina continued to scream out in agony. Beelzebub stopped and lifted Irina. He made a slight turning motion with his hand and a sick crunching noise was heard by everyone. The bottom pair of wings Irina had begun to twist slowly and crack.

Irina gasped in pain tears streaming from her eyes as she felt her lower wings slowly being snapped into pieces.

"Issei… please help me…" she whispered staring at him with a pained gaze. Issei's anger soared as his miasma began to coat his body. Beelzebub noticed and closed his fist causing blood to come out of Irina's mouth.

"Give in Issei! Join me and I'll stop. I'll even heal her for y-" his face was caved in by Issei's fist and he flew through the air and crashed a ways away into the graveyard.

**|CALAMITY|** Tiamat's voice rang from the **Boosted Gear** as an onslaught of lightning bolts rained down on Beelzebub's downed form. Issei fired bolt after bolt until he was satisfied. Just to make sure, Issei focused his power on the ground causing a mini eruption to engulf Beelzebub's entire body.

After finishing his onslaught, Issei immediately ran over to Irina, who looked at him with a weak smile.

"Hey, Ise. Could you call Asia for me? I have a situation with one of my pairs of wings," she said weakly. Issei nodded and called for Asia. The blonde nun immediately ran over and began to heal Irina.

Issei stood up and looked off in Beelzebub's direction. "We're finishing this guys," Issei said.

Eric and Lisa stood up using their weapons for support. "We're with you kid," Eric said with Lisa nodding.

"We'll follow your lead Issei," Sirzechs and Grayfia said with the other devils nodding in response. The Olympians and their demigods stood and rallied around him.

"I'm summoning my hunters. I left them to guard the railroad," Artemis said pulling out a horn and blowing it. A portal opened and her hunters all walked out ready to fight.

"It's nice to have more people to share in our suffering," Ares drawled as he summoned another massive broadsword. Artemis couldn't argue with him because he was right. There was a great chance her hunters could die against Beelzebub.

A figure flew into the sky and hovered there. By the color of his eyes, they all knew it was Beelzebub. The demon's white hair was singed and he sported some tears on his clothes. His skin was covered in several burns from the lava and the lightning onslaught.

"So, you brought more friends to the party huh? That's okay. The more the merrier," Beelzebub said raising his hand slightly. Several mausoleums were lifted off the ground and hovered next to Beelzebub. He threw his hand forward and the buildings all flew at them.

"Time to look alive guys!" Issei said firing a black blast of energy destroying one of the flying buildings.

The entire group scattered and began to attack Beelzebub. Beelzebub stood as a barrage of silver arrows bounced off him. He turned and saw Xenovia and Kiba charging to attack him with their blades. Beelzebub caught both their blades then saw a boot plant itself in his face. He didn't budge an inch causing Koneko's eyes to grow wide. Suddenly, a blue tail coiled around Beelzebub's body and threw him on the ground.

Kuroka swiped her paw sending Beelzebub crashing into the forest. Fenrir appeared above Beelzebub and prepared to crush him in his jaws. Beelzebub smirked as he swung his fist breaking Fenrir's jaw and crushing one of his fangs. He grabbed the wolf by the snout and slammed him into the ground.

"Those fangs of yours are really annoying. How about a little tooth extraction free of charge?" Beelzebub said creating a blade around his hand.

**{DIVIDE!}**

Beelzebub's eyes grew wide when he felt some of his power leave him. He turned to see Vali and delivered a roundhouse kick. His eyes widened when his attack missed the devil entirely.

Mitsuki appeared next to Vali and sent a haymaker to Beelzebub's crotch causing him to squeal in pain. He raised his palm and forced them both back sending them crashing into a grave.

The entire group charged and battled against the Demon Lord as he blocked and countered all of their attacks. Beelzebub was beginning to grow annoyed. They never stopped and kept coming back like cockroaches. No matter how many times he squashed them, they always got back up.

Beelzebub fired a beam of black and yellow energy shattering Grayfia's ice barrier forcing her to duck to avoid his attack.

Athena appeared behind him and thrust her spear in an attempt to impale him. He formed a tendril made of darkness and caught her spear. He attempted to deliver a kick to break the goddess's neck only for Hephaestus to block it with a shield. Beelzebub applied more force to the attack breaking the shield sending the two gods flying.

As Beelzebub was preoccupied fighting the others, Issei landed next to Le Fay. "Hey, Le Fay? How good are your illusions?" Issei said.

She canceled her fire spell and looked at him confused. "They're pretty good, why?"

"I need you to do something for me," he said.

* * *

Beelzebub sensed Issei coming over and raised his hand absorbing Issei's Dragon Shot.

"You know that doesn't work," he said to Issei only to be confused when Issei smirked. His eyes narrowed at his actions when he felt an intense pain on his back. Risa had delivered a diagonal slash with Tatsumasa directly attacking the demon lord's soul. Beelzebub whirled around and gut-punched her sending her flying into Serafall.

Mitsuki and Vali appeared next to Beelzebub and both delivered their attacks. Beelzebub merely raised his forearms and blocked them both. Arthur ran to his front and tried to stab Beelzebub with Caliburn only for a darkness tendril to wrap around him. The same thing happened to Sairaorg and Bikou who were being restrained.

"Your collective cuteness factor is running out you know? I'm starting to get bored of you all," he said as he prepared to kill his restrained combatants. He was suddenly launched into the air by a kick. As he righted himself, he saw the angel, Irina, standing next to them. Getting up, they all charged at Beelzebub in another attempt to attack him.

The demon's eye twitched in annoyance as he sent a wave of kinetic energy pinning them all to the ground.

"No more games. You're all dying right here," he raised his hand and blocked Ascalon with his hand. His eye lazily turned to Issei. He formed a darkness blade surrounding his hand and shoved his hand through Issei's chest. Beelzebub smirked and everyone's eyes widened in horror.

"ISSEI!" the girls yelled with Irina, Rossweisse, Kuroka, and Rias being the loudest.

"AHAHAHA! Nice try boy! Any last words before I take my hand out of your chest?" Beelzebub said as he held Issei up. Issei coughed up some blood and said the last words he would ever hear.

"Yeah… surprise motherfucker!" he said as he flickered out of existence. Beelzebub's eyes grew wide when he heard a gunshot. He looked down and saw a bullet hole in his chest with a bullet imbedded deep inside the wound. He turned his gaze to Issei who stood across from him staring with hate in his eyes. The Colt's barrel was smoking.

Beelzebub's wide eyes glowed yellow as his entire body spasmed. A flame-colored energy flashed inside his body causing some of it to escape from the wound. Lightning erupted from Beelzebub's body as the flaming energy inside Beelzebub's body kept flashing before finally flickering out. The glow in Beelzebub's eyes subsided and he fell to the ground unceremoniously with the wound smoking.

Issei fell on his butt and breathed a sigh of contentment and relief. He dropped the Colt next to his side. Issei looked around and saw everyone looking at Beelzebub's dead body.

"We did it…" Kiba said. "WE FUCKING DID IT!"

Everyone cheered as the realization finally set in. The Demon Lord was dead. They had won. The world was safe once more. Sirzechs sat next to his wife who was nursing a wound.

"Another global crisis averted and this time no paperwork," he said as he looked at the celebrating group. Issei was being hoisted up by Bikou, Saji, Vali, and Percy and paraded around the graveyard.

Grayfia smiled at the sight. "Yeah," she said leaning her head on Sirzechs' shoulder. "Peace at last."

Their fellow leaders looked at the two and smiled joining them in their seats.

"All we have to do now is deal with all those demons," Risa said leaning on a gravestone. The realization that this was not completely over dawned on them as they knew that they couldn't keep those demons running around. They slowly began to think of ideas.

"We'll organize search parties with the hunting deities," Serafall offered.

"I concur with your decision," Artemis said drinking water from her Hydroflask that Thalia had given her after the battle was over.

"Never want to fight someone like him again," Ares said lighting a cigarette.

Hephaestus and Athena stayed silent simply basking in the victory while Ajuka laid down on the grass and Falbium began to doze off. The night was peaceful once more until Hephaestus shot to his feet fear written all over his face.

_Her! There's only one person I know with this kind of foul power!_ He thought as his hands began to tremble. He turned and saw Risa with the same horrified wide eyes.

Over at the celebrating group, they stopped when they sensed something wrong. Issei turned to the leaders when he saw Hephaestus and Risa frozen in fear. He turned to the others and saw that they were just as confused as he was.

"What do you think's wrong with them?" Issei asked. Vali and Mitsuki shrugged while Irina looked at her superior officer worried.

"C' mon dad. Lighten up!" an elf looking Latino boy named Leo said to Hephaestus.

"Yeah, what's wrong you two?" Sirzechs asked them unnerved by their expressions.

"Imagining finally bedding Aphrodite Hepatitis?" Ares said in a mocking tone.

"We need to run now!" Hephaestus roared at the group startling them. The Satans instantly went on guard at the forge god's tone.

"Why? What's happening?" he asked. Risa began to shake.

"There's no use in fighting her. We're all going to die unless we get out of _HERE!_" she said forgetting that Sirzechs and the others were more powerful than she was.

"Why I don't understand what's going on?" Rossweisse said with her friends mirroring her actions.

"Yeah, what's all the fu-" Issei froze when he heard that all too familiar voice. The voice of a woman who he had cherished as his older sister since childhood with Az-nee following.

Everyone else around him had heard it but in a different manner. Her calm, soothing voice had completely betrayed the power behind it. Footsteps were heard and they were all terrified by this level of power to turn around.

"Such a shame that Beelzebub had to die. He was loyal to mother but in the end, he went against my wishes so I suppose his death is nothing more than a… minor inconvenience," they all finally turned to see Gremory and Sitri accompanying a woman with long flowing white hair wearing a black strapless dress with a pleated skirt that parted at waist revealing a shorter skirt underneath that reached halfway down her right thigh. She wore a black choker with a ribbon around her neck. The dress sported long black sleeves. Her bangs were styled in an upwards ponytail. They all shivered when they saw her icy blue eyes look at them however, all Issei felt was warmth when the eyes looked at him. He could see the familial sisterly longing in those eyes.

"Onee-chan?" Issei asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Ise-chan, it's me. Onee-chan is home," she said smiling fondly at him.

"Risa, who is that?" Grayfia asked as she looked warily at the new arrival.

Risa gulped as she looked to Grayfia with fear in her eyes.

"That's Lilith, the Firstborn. Princess of all Demons."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 100**

**File Name: Lilith**

**GPS Ranking: Unknown, estimated rank: At least EX- (x2) Deity Class Demon**

**File: Lilith, alternatively known as the Firstborn, is the eldest of all demons and the first to exist. She is much more powerful than her younger siblings, the Princes of Hell, and stands at the pinnacle of Demonkind. While her true motives are relatively unknown it is known that she possesses enough power to be classified as a world-ending threat.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Run...**

**End File.**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**yogap34712 says: Are you gonna add lemon for Issei harem?**

**Maybe? I don't know I've never written a full-blown lemon before. If anyone has any tips on how to write a good one, I'm all ears.**

**Scrumblenut says: Issei's form reminds me of Lucifer, from the Netflix series, though a lot more hellish, and without the power to make one state their desire. The idea of Issei selling his soul has me curious, as I doubt he would do something without the faint thought of a backup... Though that's just my opinion. Lance definitely had this coming, and I doubt Beelzebub even really wanted him to live. I've probably got other things to say, but I'm drawing a blank for now. Take care.**

**Really? Huh, I never thought of that. I was thinking of Dante's Sin Devil Trigger. Issei selling his soul for his sister was a heat of the moment thing. He was suffering from grief and wasn't thinking straight so he sold his soul to revive his dead sister. I mean, if my brother or sister died, I wouldn't hesitate to sell my soul for them if I knew that I could do that and was too lost in grief.**

**sykartracer says: You were right, Issei did the monumentally stupid thing. I can't wait for everyone to yell at Issei over this. The reactions of quite a few make me excited. Ophis could just head-chop with a monotone "baka", New Moon Artemis could just wail on his head screaming "Baka Ise-nii-chan", Heck, Gabriel could finally get angry along with Grayfia and Serafall. They could just...I don't even know how they'll react. And not to mention Ellie. That'd be a total mind-blown moment for the factions if she were to show up and berate Issei for selling his soul for Mitsuki, especially if she plays the "disappointed Onee-chan" card since everyone believes she just wants to end all of creation. Maybe she wants to start Creation over with her and Issei being the Adam and Eve...or something.**

**As a person who loves cats dearly, and probably to death, I will say that the death of the black cat was brutal and it made me feel extremely sad, but considering Issei's in that stage where he'll do anything to have his sister back, I can understand that it was needed., but...it was just so brutal.**

**Hehehehe, I hope you weren't too disappointed as to who Onee-chan actually was. And Beelzebub just told Mitsuki and everyone else what happened with Issei so we'll see where it goes from here. Gabriel and the other Archangels already know because they sensed the soul brand on Issei's soul that marks him for Hell. The reason they can't do anything about it is that the deal has been reinforced by their older sister who for some reason wants Issei to go to Hell. Reasons as to why will have to wait for a while. I'm sorry about the cat scene but as you said, he was in grief and he wasn't thinking straight. I love cats as well and it was very hard for me to write that scene.**

**emiya-excalibur says: WAIT WHAT? Lucifer and Ellie are the same person?! The way I'd been interpreting it was Lucifer was Ellie's mother. The way the Archangels talked about them made them seem like completely different people... Okay now I have to go back and reread the parts where they are mentioned.**

**Well, I can't wait to see what happens next!**

**Sorry about the confusion on that part. I should've said something sooner but yes, you were right on the part that Issei reminds them of their sister soooo...**

**AnimeFan0216 says: Well my wish was granted... Mitsuki came back! Yaayy! NOOOOO! Issei is the one in danger now. I am sorry if I said no matter what way. I prefer Ellie suddenly shows up and revive Mitsuki to make her Issei-chan happy. Well anyway it is a good chapter and we are all satisfied, and set free.**

**Hehe, Ellie wasn't Onee-chan as I so graciously revealed in this chapter. Any ideas as to why Lucifer wants Issei in Hell? And Issei dying was not planned out from the start. Originally, he was supposed to be in a coma but him dying sounded so much better to me.**

**And finally ilhamcrazy123 says: Lance's character is really confusing to me now that i look back. How can he be fighting to save his sister yet tried to kill issei's sister and wanting to rape her too? Honestly whoever lance's sister is, she should be glad her asshole of a brother is dead. Disappointing enough to find out tatsuya and probably his gang of pathetic spineless worms are still alive, but he still has the arrogance to insult issei after having a royal beatdown. When are you gonna kill them all off, and please make it satisfying if you do.**

**Oh I can assure you that they will die in the future. Especially since Lilith has joined the field and I guess you can imagine that Onee-chan isn't too happy about what happened to her precious Issei-chan. As for Lance's character, he does want to save his sister but somewhere along the way, he began to enjoy inflicting pain on other people and making them suffer so yeah, Lance became a pretty sick fuck after a while. Imagine what he did to the other Special Children that came before Issei and the others. We will Lance's sister, Nancy, in the future and she will learn about what her brother did. As for her reaction, feel free to guess. **

**That's it for the reviews. Now, I need to clear something up. Who does Issei remind everyone of? The answer is...**

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**LUCIFER! **

**Yes, Issei reminds everyone of Lucifer, especially the Archangels. You can only imagine what goes through their heads every time they see Issei and see only their loving older sister. Anyway, Lily and Lucifer weren't the same. Lily, as you learned, was Lilith. She was the one who babysat Issei when he was younger which is why people are also somewhat reminded of her when they see Issei. He picked up some traits from her such as being good with children and the demon powers. Yes, Lilith donated her blood to create the Special Children. She is their source progenitor. And now you know, who humiliated Kali so badly in a fight that she took her rage out on Issei. Also, Hephaestus knows Lilith. What's their history together? Anyways, remember to review/fav/follow the story. And don't forget to make it a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~**


	25. Three Minutes Til Midnight

**Pyre: Sooo, this chapter will be shorter than all the others mainly because it's the last chapter. I had fun writing this story and everyone on this website was more than welcoming. As a new author, thank you for being such a welcoming audience. I learned a lot from all of you who reviewed and it turned me from a shit writer into a less shitty writer. So thank you all for supporting this entire story.**

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**Sooooo, welcome to the last chapter of the first season! After this, no chapters for a week or two because I could use a break and I need to update the wiki soooo, let's go. Also, this chapter begins with a flashback.**

**Lilith: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town, May 18, 2007, 10:25 AM**

* * *

"_SHIT! I'm gonna be late!" a white-haired woman crashed out of her bed and ran down the stairs. She tripped on a pair of fluffy slippers and tumbled down._

_A red-haired man with a white streak in his hair was peacefully cooking breakfast in his kitchen when he heard a loud crashing noise. He shook his head and turned his hazel eyes to the stairway._

"_Lilith, you alright?" he asked._

"_Yeah, Heph! I'm fine," she said getting up and dusting off her clothes. Lilith sniffed the air and began to salivate. She looked at the kitchen and saw him cooking. Lilith smiled warmly and walked over to him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck peeking over his shoulder._

"_Whatcha cookin?" she asked._

"_Pancakes," he said. Lilith got off and began to set the table. Hephaestus put the pancakes at the center and the two began to eat._

"_You ever think Aphrodite will find out about us?" she asked chewing on her pancake._

"_Nah… even if she did, what would she do? You can literally blow her up by snapping your fingers oh almighty daughter of the Morningstar," Hephaestus said. Lilith looked at her phone and dropped her fork when she saw the time. _

"_Crap! I have to get to my interview!" Lilith waved her hands and changed into a red long sleeve blouse with a black skirt. She wore black knee-high socks and brown shoes. "Gotta go, say hi to Harmonia for me!" she said pecking his cheek before bolting out their door._

_Hephaestus chuckled as he lifted the dishes into the sink. He changed into his smithing clothes and teleported back to Olympus for another day of dealing with his annoying, arrogant family._

* * *

_Lilith appeared out of thin air in front of the gate of a house. "Is this it?" she asked herself looking at the address on the paper and the house number. _

"_Hmm. 777? Weird house number," she muttered as she rang the doorbell. Lilith waited nervously at the front gate when she saw a pretty woman in her late twenties open the door. The woman's eyes brightened when she saw Lilith._

"_You're here! What perfect timing!" she said. "Come in!" Lilith was taken inside by the woman._

"_So, you'll be looking after our son. Don't worry he's an angel," she said as she toured Lilith around their small suburban house. Their house was cozy in Lilith's opinion but then again, she never owned a home before now and her house was an apartment near Kuoh Academy. Her mind flew back to that annoying time when those other creations of her mother's, Devils, decided to kill one of their own for loving an exorcist. Such bigotry. First, they take the names of her mother and 76 demons which included her own and now they buy up human towns like they owned the world. Perhaps she should head down to the Underworld to teach them a lesson for disturbing her peace. Lilith snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the woman spoke._

"_My name is Hyoudou by the way. Hyoudou Miki. I didn't catch your name. What was it again?" Miki asked her._

"_Umm, Amaranth. Amaranth Lily," Lilith said._

"_Well, Amaranth-san. I might as well introduce you to your charge right?" Miki said. Lilith nodded._

"_Issei, come down and meet your new babysitter!" the pitter-patter of small feet could be heard running in the upstairs portion of the house. A small boy less than half of Lilith's height came running down the stairs. He had spiky brown hair wearing a red t-shirt and grey shorts. His big brown eyes were filled with so much innocence in them. He tilted his head to the side and waved at her smiling. However, she could feel it. A miasma signature so similar to her own along with the soul signature of the Red Dragon Emperor._

_So he's one of Beelzebub's Special Children. He's so… He's so... He's so adorable! Lilith thought as she stared at the small boy in front of her._

"_Ah, Amaranth-san, this is our son, Issei. You'll be looking after him when we're gone," Miki said to her. Lilith looked at the woman and nodded while smiling._

"_Issei, this is Lily. She'll be looking after you while we take your sister to the hospital to get her tummy ache checked up okay?" Miki said bending down and patting her son's head._

"_Okay, Kaa-chan!" Issei said._

"_Miki! Let's go!" a man's voice was heard from the doorway._

"_I'm coming!" Miki yelled. She knelt and hugged Issei one more time before getting up and leaving. _

_Issei turned to Lilith with expectant eyes. She felt his gaze and looked down at him. Smiling, she bent down and introduced herself._

"_So, Ise-chan. My name is Amaranth. Lily Amaranth. It's very nice to meet you!" she chirped._

"_N-nice to meet you. Ama-amarat, ama-"_

"_You can just call me Lily or whatever feels best for you," she said._

_Issei fell into a deep state of thinking that all five-year-olds had when they were trying to come up with something new. His eyes lit up suddenly and looked back at her._

"_Nice to meet you Nee-chan. I'm Issei and I'm this many years old!" he said holding up five fingers. Lilith smiled warmly._

"_Ise-chan. What do you want to do today?" she said._

"_Can we go to the park!" Issei asked. _

"_Of course!"_

_Lilith sat on one of the park benches and watched as Issei ran around the playground with all the other children. The mothers sat next to her making small conversation with her and occasionally glaring at their husbands for looking at her. Lilith laughed on the inside. 4 billion years and men wouldn't stop staring at her. There were times when Lilith sometimes cursed her relation to her mother, who was hailed as the most beautiful angel in existence, but now wasn't one of those times. _

"_Onee-chan!" her gaze turned to Issei who was sitting on the swing waving at her. "Come push me!" _

_Lilith got up and made her way over to the swingset and began to lightly push Issei, who was laughing excitedly at how high he went. Lilith smiled. She hadn't been around children since Harmonia was a young cambion. The day continued with Issei making Lilith play with him. They played Hide-and-Seek, went down the slides, and even tag. At the end of the day, Issei had exhausted his tiny self and was too tired to walk so Lilith gave him a piggyback ride back to the house._

_She arrived to see his parents were pulling up and handed Issei to them._

"_How was he?" Miki asked._

"_He was a dear. I'd love to look after him some time," she said as she saw Issei conversing about his day with a girl who looked like a female version of him._

"_Of course, and I imagine a young woman like you has college to worry about so if you don't mind, could we drop Issei off whenever we need a babysitter?" she asked._

"_Sure, and I assume for your daughter as well?" Lilith asked._

"_Oh, Mitsu-chan. No, we only need to drop Issei off when she has piano recitals," Miki said. Lilith looked at her before nodding. She began to walk back to her apartment when she heard someone._

"_Bye Onee-chan!" Lilith heard Issei say. She turned around and smiled._

"_See you later, Ise-chan!"_

* * *

_The next couple of months went by for Lilith. She looked after Issei as promised and the Hyoudous would dump Issei on her every weekend, not that she minded. However, she did wonder. Who the hell was his twin's piano teacher to make her have a recital every weekend? Issei also made a new friend named Irina who he called Rin. Lilith teased him endlessly about having a new girlfriend only for him to say that she wasn't his girlfriend. _

_To continue living in her apartment and pay for rent, Lilith had gotten a side job as a graphic artist for a company that published light novels and that was where we found her now. At her desk, sketching. She heard small footsteps enter her office._

"_Onee-chan, look at what I made!" Issei said holding up a drawing. _

"_Oh, let me see it," she said taking the drawing from him. It was a stick drawing of her and Issei. At the bottom in the usual messy child handwriting, there was the caption me and Onee-chan. Lilith smiled and ruffled his head._

"_Wow, I didn't know I looked after an artist," she said. Lilith pulled out a couple of thumbtacks from a small box. "I'll hang it up right here," she said pinning the drawing to the wall. "That way, I can always see it."_

"_Ooh, Nee-chan. Can you teach me how to draw like you?" Issei asked. He felt a poke on his forehead and saw Lilith with her middle and pointer finger extended._

"_Sorry Issei, maybe next time," she said smiling before returning to her work._

"_MOUUU! Nee-chan, you always say that!" Issei huffed making Lilith laugh a little._

"_How about this? I finish the cover and then I take you out for some ice cream. Deal?" she said extending her pinky finger. Issei smiled and nodded wrapping his own around hers._

"_Promise?"_

"_I, Lily Amaranth, solemnly swear to buy Issei ice cream after I finish my cover. Cross my heart and hope to eat cake," Lilith said grinning._

* * *

_Lilith flared her aura in anger at the flaming figure that looked at her._

"_WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO LEAVE!" she yelled at the figure. The figure stayed silent at Lilith's words._

"_First of all, you disappear and let the whole world go to shit! And now you show up!? Where the hell were you!?" she screamed._

"_AQLO BVTMON BABALON," the flaming figure said._

"_What? How…?" Lilith said in shock._

"_A AS PGGDUGG" the figure said._

"_By who?" Lilith asked._

"_MADRIAXX" _

_Lilith's eyes grew wide in shock. She began to shake her head in denial._

"_No, no, no! You're lying. Uncle Michael would never order something like that!" she said._

"_AG. AG HOD," the figure said._

"_If it wasn't Uncle, then who was it?" she asked._

"_Zadkiel," the figure said to her._

_Lilith's anger boiled. How dare he!?_

"_What do you want me to do?" she asked._

"_ODO. ODO A BVTMON BABALON" it said. Lilith looked down at the ground clenching her fists. She would have to leave everything. Her job. Her friends. Her family. Her mind flew to images of Issei, Hephaestus, Harmonia, and countless others._

"_NONCA VGUU BOOAPIS," it said. Lilith looked at the figure conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to do it but on the other, she didn't want to leave. The figure seeing her conflicted emotions continued._

"_NONCA VGUU MUDUGGFG. CHIS VGUU ECRIN NONCA. NONCA VGUU FUVG BOOAPIS," the figure said. Lilith listened to its offers. _

"_If I do this, Creation will be safe again? No more wars. No more conflict. Just paradise?" she asked._

"_NOIB," it said._

"_Okay, I'll do it. Just please, let me say goodbye," she said with tears starting to form._

_The figure nodded. "VGDG VGUU A PASBS," the figure vanished leaving Lilith to cry all alone in her room._

* * *

_Issei waited at his house for Lily to show up. He liked her. She was the best Onee-chan ever. She taught him so many things. How to draw. How to do math. How to be a big boy! He resolved to grow up and be like her. And when he did, she would be so proud of him and finally stop poking his forehead. Issei saw Lily's car pull up and she got out of the car with red-rimmed eyes. Issei immediately became worried and ran up to her._

"_Onee-chan, are you okay?" he said. Lilith smiled and kneeled to his level._

"_Issei. I need you to be strong okay?" she said._

"_Why? Did someone make you sad?" he asked._

_Lilith bit her lip. "Onee-chan has to go away for a while," she said._

"_Oh! I'll go with you," Issei said._

"_No, Issei, listen. You can't come with me," she said sadly. Issei's eyes grew wide and he ran toward her and wrapped himself around her legs._

"_Please don't go Onee-chan! Was I bad? I'll promise to be good, just please don't go!" he begged with tears streaming down his face._

_Lilith looked down at him sadly. Her heart broke for the little boy she had come to cherish so dearly in her heart._

"_Issei, it'll be okay. It's gonna be okay," she said as she engulfed him in a hug and stroked his hair. "Hey, hey, I'll only be gone for a little bit. I promise I'll be back and then, we can get that ice cream I promised you!" she said trying to cheer him up. Issei looked up at her sniffling._

"_Really?"_

"_Really really."_

"_Swear," Issei said holding out his pinky._

_Lilith giggled at his request but did it. "I, Lily Amaranth, solemnly swear to come back and buy Issei ice cream. Cross my heart and hope to eat cake," she said linking her pinky around his. Issei smiled. The two spent an hour just enjoying and playing. After the hour had passed, Lilith had to leave and dropped Issei off at his house._

_As he watched his older sister/baby sitter leave, he remembered something and ran after her. "Onee-chan, wait! We still need to-" he was poked in the forehead by Lilith._

"_Sorry Issei, maybe next time," she said with a wink. Issei rubbed his forehead and smiled nodding._

* * *

**Cavalry Cemetery, Wyoming, USA, February 26, 2020, 3:00 AM; Current Time: 3 minutes til Midnight**

* * *

Issei's brown eyes stared into the icy blue eyes of Lilith. She was how he remembered. Her upward ponytail, her warm smile, her welcoming gaze. Issei took a slow step towards her when Grayfia put an arm out in front of him.

"Don't go near her Issei," she said looking warily at Lilith.

Issei looked at Grayfia and then back to Lilith. Sitri took offense at Grayfia's words.

"How dare you show disrespect to our Princess you devil whore!" he snarled glaring at her. Lilith looked at Sitri causing him to go silent.

"Be quiet Sitri," she said. Sitri nodded in fear.

Lilith turned her attention back to the group and looked at Issei. She simply smiled at him and turned her gaze to the others. "I came here to thank all of you. Beelzebub was a loyal supporter but unfortunately, his goals didn't align with mine. I would have killed him myself sooner or later," Lilith said looking at Beelzebub's corpse with disgust.

"Onee-chan," Issei said. "Why are you with them?"

Lilith looked at Issei without any emotion in her eyes. Gremory took this time to speak.

"Because she is our Princess, boy. Our ruler. The very heiress to the Throne of Hell itself," Gremory said to Issei. Issei looked at Lilith and her face said it all.

"Y-you're a demon?" he asked. Lilith nodded.

"I've always been a demon, Ise-chan," she said.

"What do you want?" Sirzechs said as he and the other Satans and the Olympians began to charge energy.

Lilith looked at the leaders impassively. "What do I want? I want a lot of things. A caramel macchiato, the latest issue of Rising of the Shield Hero but hey, you want me to do the typical villain thing and tell you my plan right?

"Well, I want what you want. Peace," she said to him.

Sirzechs slightly relaxed. "Well, I'm sure we can joi-"

"No, no. I want true peace not that thing you slapped the label of peace onto," she said. Everyone looked at her confused.

"What do you mean by that? All the world's pantheons are united under one banner. How could you not call that peace?" Athena asked her.

"Because it's not. It's nothing more than a facade. This thing you call "peace". It's nothing more than a temporary ceasefire. Something you were all forced to consent to beat something much more powerful than the rest of you. What I want is true peace," she said.

"And releasing an army of demons is a step to achieving that?" Serafall asked her.

"Of course, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. This current world you live in thrives on the suffering of others. People fall victim to each other's greed, their hatred. Wars. Famine. Rape. Murder. I plan on changing all of that," Lilith said.

"How?" Issei asked this time.

"That's simple. By tearing down this world and building a new one over it.," Lilith said to them. "And to do that, I need an army to make my vision a reality"

"But that would be a false peace. You're just planning to subjugate all of Creation," Irina asked. Lilith looked at her.

"No, I'm not. I don't want to rule Creation. That was Grandpa's job and now it's Uncle's. I'm planning to bring Paradise to Creation once more and to do that, I need an army to eliminate any threats to our progress," she snapped her fingers and a beaten and broken silver-haired man appeared in front of them. It was Euclid Lucifuge, the younger brother of Grayfia. Grayfia's eyes grew wide when her brother appeared in front of her.

"And he shall serve as an example to all those who would get in the way of peace," Lilith said as she grabbed Euclid by the head. A violet light poured from Euclid's eyes and mouth as he began to scream in agony. After a few seconds, the light faded and Lilith held Euclid's corpse whose eyes were burned out.

Grayfia stared wide-eyed as Lilith tossed to them her brother's dead body.

"You're a monster!" Tatsuya said. Lilith raised a delicate eyebrow at his words.

"Me a monster? Hardly. I was merely executing a criminal," she said.

"YOU DIDN'T NEED TO DO THAT!" Grayfia screamed with tears streaming down her face.

"And why not? People like him don't deserve salvation. They are a sickness that needs to be cleansed from this world for there to be paradise," Lilith said coldly.

Issei stared at Lilith with wide eyes. The Lily he knew never acted like this. When did she become so cold? So cruel? "Nee-chan?" he asked hesitantly unnerved by her display.

Lilith's expression softened when she heard Issei's voice. "I know about what you did, Issei. I'm torn between being proud that you would go to such lengths for a loved one and being absolutely livid at your choice," Lilith said as she looked at Issei with an intense stare. As she took one step towards him, the Gods and Satans sprung into action. Lilith didn't even glance when a repulsive force was expelled from her body sending them all flying away from her.

They prepared to jump back in when they felt themselves being held down. The Gods and Satans all turned to see Lilith's eyes boring into them. "Try that again and they'll need a bucket to take you all home," she said.

Lilith turned her attention back to Issei, who sat there petrified at her display of power. She had taken out multiple deity class beings without lifting a finger. Lilith approached her younger brother who recoiled at her in surprise and fear. Lilith frowned before stroking his cheek.

"Calm down Issei. You know I would never hurt you," she said smiling. Her aura became soothing and calmed him down. "Join me," she said.

Issei's eyes stared at her in disbelief. She expected him to join her? After what she said she planned to do? "No," he said softly. "I can't join you, Onee-chan. I don't want to have all that blood on my hands. Maybe, there's another way. Another way we can have peace," Issei said hoping to get through to her.

Lilith sighed. She had expected this answer. "What a shame. I really wished that we were on the same side," Lilith said. The pressure around the area increased as a violet aura surrounded Lilith.

She turned her gaze to the other group who was beginning to sweat as their fear increased. Her power, it just kept rising. Lilith began to walk to them slowly but as she was halfway, Lilith was launched by a kinetic force. Her telekinetic grip on Issei, The Four Satans, Grayfia, and the rest of the Olympians vanished. Lilith crashed through several gravestones. She twisted her body in mid-air and flipped landing on her feet.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the newcomer. "Aunt Azrael, it's so good to see you," Lilith said straightening her body and dusting off her dress.

Azrael stood in front of the group with her now twenty wings spread. Her scythe was dug into the ground next to her.

"Lilith," she said as she lifted her scythe off the ground. "Where is your mother?"

"She isn't here at the moment. Please leave a message," Lilith said to her.

Azrael's eyes narrowed at her answer.

"Why isn't she here?" Azrael pressed.

"I don't know but I'm afraid that's all I have time for auntie," Lilith told her not giving any information. With that, Lilith turned to her subordinates. "Gremory, Sitri. We're leaving," Lilith said as she floated into the air.

"Paradise will arrive in this world. Whether you resist or not is solely up to you. This is the will of the Great Dragon!" Lilith turned her gaze onto Issei. "The will of our Mother," she said. As she turned to disappear, Lilith heard a voice that made her freeze.

"Lilith," Hephaestus said to her with a longing voice.

She turned around and looked at him with indifferent eyes but he could see it. The sadness in them. The sadness at being on opposite sides. She fiddled with the silver ring on her left hand as she stared at Hephaestus with love and sadness. Not being able to bear it any longer, Lilith turned around and disappeared teleporting away.

Everyone let out a breath after Lilith disappeared.

"We need to go inform the entire world. A new threat is coming," Azrael said leaving no room for argument. They all nodded in agreement. Azrael snapped her fingers and teleported them all to Mount Everest.

* * *

**Mount Everest, 4:20 AM**

* * *

The entire room was in chaos. Different gods were shouting over each other in an attempt to be heard as they all argued over different ways to deal with the oncoming threat of the demons. Ideas were presented and shot down as the Elder Gods tried to maintain a semblance of calm. Demons were a threat that they had faced in the past and were not to be taken lightly. They were able to fight both Heaven and the other Pantheons on even grounds and they would have won in the past had Lilith not stayed neutral. Now that she was leading them, then they would need to present a united front.

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" Chaos said flaring his power causing the room to quiet down.

"There's no use in panicking. Not when there's a threat like this. We need to think this over. This isn't Qlippoth we're fighting nor is the leader of the threat Rizevim. This is Lilith we're talking about," Brahma said to them.

"So what?" Hercules spoke out. "She's just a devil. How can she possibly hope to defeat all of us?" His sentiments were mirrored by a lot of the deities present in the room.

Ares shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? This bitch defeated all of us without even lifting a single finger and you think you can go and fight her?" Ares said to the minor god.

"I have to agree with Ares and besides, she called herself a demon and not a devil," Athena said.

"That's right, the Lilith you all knew, the Devil Lilith, was just a devil who took her name in an attempt to cement her power above the others," Raphael said. "The Lilith we're all going to deal with is a Demon and the oldest one of them all."

"Right, Lilith can only be described as a force of nature. A being on par with us," Shiva told them. Every deity in the room became shocked. A being on par with the Elder Gods?

"What do we do?" Amaterasu asked.

"For now, we need to build up our defenses and gather information. We can't launch an operation or move against them without any info on their movements," Amatsu-Mikaboshi answered.

"We need every pantheon on high alert. If you notice any demonic activity in your pantheon's area, report it immediately," Sirzechs told his fellow leaders.

They all nodded.

"Now onto other matters…"

* * *

Issei stood by the railing and stared off. He saw the city of Kathmandu and the home base for all the daring climbers who wished to climb the mountain. He sighed and breathed in the fresh Nepali air and heard footsteps behind him. He knew who it was. He had been dreading this conversation for a few hours now.

"Nice night huh, Aniki," Mitsuki said as she leaned on the railing right next to her twin brother.

"Yeah, it is," Issei said.

The two stayed silent increasing the tenseness of the situation. Issei glanced at his sister who stood there staring at the lights of basecamp and Kathmandu with blank, hollow eyes.

"Beelzebub said that I died. That Lance destroyed my heart and caused it to stop beating and how you sold your soul for me," Mitsuki began. Issei stayed silent as she began to speak.

"I'm trying not to believe his words but I need to hear it from you. What happened after I pushed you out of the way of that attack?" she asked.

"Nothing. You got hurt and Asia patched you up. Besides, why would you believe him? Demons lie. It's in their job description," Issei lied to her.

Mitsuki slammed her fist down on the railing bending it. "Then, why are you lying to me!?" she said glaring at him.

Issei took a step back. "M-Mii-chan…" Issei said.

"Don't Mii-chan me! TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT NOW ISSEI!" she screamed at him using his name instead of the usual "Aniki".

Issei looked down not finding it in himself to meet the disappointed, furious, and sad eyes of his twin.

"How long do you get?" she asked.

"A year. I get one year," Issei told her finally looking at her.

"How could you do that? Why would you do that?" she said grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I had to. It's my job to protect you. And because I can't live in a world with you dead. I can't do it," Issei said.

"We made a promise to protect each other! And how can I fulfill my end of the promise if you go and do this!?" Mitsuki said shoving him.

"You saved me over and over again during the war! And all I did was go and get hurt over and over again! So why, when I had the chance to save you, you went and threw your life away for me! How do you think I feel! I can't bear the thought of a world without you! You're my twin. MY LITERAL OTHER HALF! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE TO EXIST WITHOUT YOU!" Mitsuki screamed punching him in the gut. Issei doubled over but managed to grab his twin in a hug.

"LET GO OF ME! I HATE YOU!" she yelled weakly pounding her fists on his chest.

"Shhhh… Mii-chan, everything's gonna be okay," Issei said stroking her hair. Mitsuki's screams devolved into sobs as she gripped Issei tightly.

"I don't care what it takes. I'm going to get you out of this," she said looking at him with determination.

"Yeah," Issei said smiling. He looked at his twin and a thought crossed his mind. Just in case.

"Mitsuki, if we can't find a way to break this deal. I need you to do something for me," Issei said.

"No. Don't say things like that! We will-"

"But just in case. I need you to keep them safe," Issei told her. Mitsuki looked at him with a hard look in her eyes. She nodded.

"I swear," she said.

"Form a blood oath with me. I need more than just words."

Mitsuki's eyes grew wide before nodding. Mitsuki opened a magic circle and pulled a small dagger out of it. She slit her palm and handed it to Issei, who also slit his own palm. The two shook hands with their wounds intermingling and their blood being exchanged.

"Thank you," Issei said as his wound closed.

"We didn't need to do that," Mitsuki said.

"I know, but… it gives me a sense of security," Issei said looking at her.

"Let's go inside Aniki," Mitsuki said. Issei nodded and the twins walked in.

* * *

Rias and her peerage sat in a small room with all the others. Koneko had received the most brutal tongue lashing from her sister with Kuroka stating that she did not raise a slut and that their mother would have regretted giving birth to her if she was alive now. Mitsuki had left a few minutes before Kuroka began her tirade.

At that moment, Venelana and Zeoticus walked in followed by Baraqiel, Sirzechs, and the Heads of the Phenex Clan, Roland and Diana Phenex.

Rias immediately cowed under the stares of her parents. Venelana looked at her daughter with utter disappointment.

"Rias. We heard about what you did and we are extremely disappointed in you," Zeoticus said.

"Otou-sama, I-" Rias began.

"No, Rias. Stay silent unless we ask you a question," Venelana said glaring at her daughter. Rias's mouth immediately zipped shut.

"Rias, I'm sure you understand that infidelity is not tolerated in our family," Venelana said making her daughter shrink in fear. Rias nodded quickly.

"Then tell me, why did you cheat on the Red Dragon Emperor?" Venelana asked.

"Isn't it obvious? She needs a man," Tatsuya said.

"I don't remember asking you a Satan damned thing!" Venelana said surrounded in a crimson aura. Tatsuya immediately pissed himself at the sight. Venelana's nose scrunched up in disgust. She turned her furious gaze back to her daughter.

"It's been made clear to us that you cannot be trusted to handle important situations. Your relationship is a perfect example. As such, we will be relinquishing your rights over Kuoh. You are to hand them over to Sona Sitri immediately," Venelana said.

"But Okaa-!" Rias was interrupted by her mother glaring at her and yelling.

"DO NOT SPEAK BACK TO ME YOUNG LADY! YOU ARE NO LONGER THE ADMINISTRATOR OF KUOH TOWN!" Venelana yelled. "Are we clear!?"

Rias nodded fearfully. Venelana huffed and left the room followed by Zeoticus, who sent one last disappointed glance at her.

"Ravel, we will be pulling all financial support from you until you can prove yourself worthy of our support once more. Your latest stunt has shamed us as a clan. Don't bother coming home for a while," Roland told her before leaving.

Akeno looked at her father who stared at her with a blank gaze. "Your mother would be disappointed in you. Why did you do it? You had a man who would go to the end of Creation and back for you," he said.

"I was insecure. I wanted to make sure that my feelings for Issei were real and not just puppy love," Akeno said. Baraqiel shook his head in further disappointment.

"I see. You wanted a break to assess your feelings but never told him. I'm not going to cut you out as the others did. You made a mistake and it seems that Beelzebub possessing you and using you is punishment enough," he said. Akeno looked at him with slight hope.

"However, you are no longer allowed to visit your mother for six months," he said. Akeno looked down and accepted the punishment. She knew that her mother would not want to see her after what she did.

Baraqiel left his daughter looking down at the ground.

Tatsuya decided to move in to try and comfort the two girls.

"Rias-chan, Akeno-chan. Forget about them. You have me now. How about we go som-" his face snapped to the side as Rias slapped him in the face.

"We're through," she said as she looked down on him with her glowing red eyes. Tatsuya looked at her in shock as he held his now red cheek. "Get out!" she said creating a spear of destruction. Tatsuya immediately ran out of the room. She sighed and powered down. The other girls went over and sat next to her as she looked down at the ground with a blank stare.

* * *

Issei and Mitsuki walked into the room and the first thing that Issei saw the gazes of all his friends looking at him with disappointment. He turned to see Rias and the other girls looking at the ground with sadness and guilt in their eyes. He tore his gaze away from them and to Rossweisse when he heard her speak.

"Issei, why?" Rossweisse asked him.

"Because I had to. She's my sister and besides, I would have done it for any of you," he said.

"But how do you think that would make us feel!?" Kiba said.

"It doesn't matter to me. As long as you live, that's all that matters," he said.

"Issei…" Irina said. Everyone else grew silent.

"So you're fine with throwing your life away for us?" Ingvild asked shaking.

"I would do anything to make you guys happy," he said.

"But it won't make us happy senpai!" Gasper yelled.

"Irina, you've been quiet. Why aren't you saying anything?" Vali said from his chair.

"Because I already knew. The minute Mitsuki came back I knew Issei did something stupid," she said looking at Vali with hollow violet eyes.

"But it doesn't matter," Mitsuki told them. They all turned their gazes on her.

"We will find a way to break Aniki's deal. Even if it means fighting Lilith herself," she said. The entire room chorused in agreement.

Issei smiled. He was grateful for having such wonderful friends and was even more grateful for being able to spend his last year with them.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

* * *

Lilith walked into a massive room with nothing inside. It was just a room with a cobblestone floor and a brick wall. The walls were lined with banners and the other half of the room dropped into a massive abyss.

Lilith walked over and knelt before the railing and a flaming figure appeared behind it.

"Mother, I have returned. The operation was successful though I regret to inform you that Beelzebub has passed away," Lilith said.

"CORS A FUNTG" the figure said.

"Mother, I have a question," she said. The figure looked at her and motioned for her to ask.

"Why him? Why Issei?" she said.

"BAGLE GOHVLIM SOHE," the figure spoke to her. "NG VGUU LI L DE PON A E EMETGIS."

"We could have found another one. Beelzebub created hundreds of them," she argued.

"CRIP EG NG AS VGEG," the figure said.

Lilith clenched her fists in anger. Why did Issei have to be dragged into this? He deserved none of this.

"Mother, I have a request," Lilith said. "When his time comes, I shall to reap him and bring his soul down here."

The figure pondered her request before consenting.

"NOIB", and then the figure vanished.

Lilith walked out of the room. A blue-haired woman saluted her and then walked after her.

"My Princess, your orders?" she asked.

"Prepare for our forces, Astaroth," Lilith said.

"By your will, my Princess," Astaroth said before disappearing in a plume of black smoke.

"I hope you're ready, Ise-chan. War has just begun," Lilith said as she looked over the balcony and over a horde of demonic entities that were ready and awaiting her command.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 100**

**File Name: Lilith**

**GPS Ranking: EX-Rank Deity Class Demon**

**File: Lilith, alternatively known as the Firstborn, is the eldest of all demons and the first to exist. She is much more powerful than her younger siblings, the Princes of Hell, and stands at the pinnacle of Demonkind. While her true motives are relatively unknown it is known that she possesses enough power to be classified as a world-ending threat.**

**Edit: Lilith wishes to bring about Paradise onto Creation. In order to do that, she unleashed an army of demons and declared war against all of Earth.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Run...**

**End File.**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 257**

**File Name: Azrael**

**Other Names: BINAH**

**GPS Ranking: EX+ Rank Deity Class Archangel (Formerly); Primal Class Archangel**

**File: Azrael is the Angel of Death and one of the Seven Archangels. She is the youngest of them all. Unlike the other Archangels, she did not lose the entirety of her full power but did sacrifice three pairs of wings during the Holy War leaving her only slightly weaker than the Dragon Gods and Trihexa. As of right now, Azrael has reclaimed all of her power and once again, has twenty wings or ten pairs. She is the first of the seven to do so.**

**End File.**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Scrumblenut says: I recommend going back through this chapter, as it feels overly rushed, with barely any breaks and commas to emphasise things. Other than that, it makes perfect sense how the fight plays out, being completely fucked from the start, yet having a one in a million chance... Next thing you know, the demons will have a Death Star and Issei will be blowing it up in an X-Wing. Take care.**

**Thanks for notifying me. I did go back to the chapter after I got home from work and started to polish it so that it would be better. Maybe I should give the demons a Death Star who knows.**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: Wow lilith, the mother of all devils huh? Not a senseless pervert he sure does surround himself with impressive to know more about the relationship between these with how close she is to issei as well as her power, i do hope the girls and their second rate boyfriends pray to any existent god for mercy since i doubt lilith will have will issei make lilith herself another part of his harem?**

**Well, I'm keeping their relationship strictly as siblings. Well, adoptive siblings. Lilith is more his big sister and their relationship will be loosely based off Itachi and Sasuke except Issei doesn't have a revenge boner for her. And I said in a PM to you that there are three Liliths so I'll explain to everyone else. In this fic, there are three Liliths. You have original Demon Lilith, the eldest daughter of the Archangel Lucifer. You have the Devil who took her name to assert her dominance over the other female devils. Her husband, the Original Devil Lucifer did the same thing. And you have the Ophis Clone named Lilith.**

**sykartracer says: Oh boy...everyone knows Issei sold his soul. And dangit, you had me thinking Lilith was Ellie! But thanks for clearing that up that Issei's Onee-chan is Lilith and not Lucifer. My guess is that Ellie had to listen on and on from Lilith about her "Ise-chan", and wants to see him for herself, and possibly play the aunt/step-mother role with him. That battle was interesting, even with Artemis seemingly going back to her "regular" mode. I'm willing to bet that Beelzebub's loyalty to Ellie was far beyond that, considering how angry he got with Mutsuki, but maybe not. I hope to see Lily at least slap Issei for selling his soul to her mom, possibly saying that his soul belongs to her only.**

**And I'm pretty sure the history with the Greek Forge God and the Firstborn involves some half demon demigods somewhere. Maybe Ares will try and hit on her, and she says that only Issei is for her.**

**Hehehe, if you can understand the Enochian in this chapter then you will know where Lucifer is but unfortunately, every Enochian translator on the web is utter shit and I saved an enochian dictionary as a PDF years ago before it got deleted soooo... Anyway, I want to know how you can read my mind! Lilith and Hephaestus had a kid that became known as the Greek Goddess, Harmonia, who everyone believes is the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. As to why, Hephaestus is one of my favorite Greek Gods and Goddesses alongside Apollo, Athena, and Artemis and I feel bad for him. **

**AnimeFan0216 says: Heh! Beelzebub became so confident and arrogant that he forgot that anything can happen in battle and no matter how strong he was, if he was outsmarted, it will spell doom to him and doom it was. He just wanted to play around with his prey just because he is strong, and that's what lead to his downfall.**

**On the next chapter: ONEE-CHAN RAGE MODE ACTIVATE! it seems the cheating boys are next to die as a demonstration of Lily's power. I wonder if she will also kill Rias and the other girls in this encounter.**

**Well, I wanted to but I needed it to fit and now didn't seem like a good time to do it. I want it to be right. When they realize that they have absolutely no hope of surviving, not now when the Satans and the Olympians would easily protect them. And the girls are important to the plot so, yeeeaaah... The demonstration of Lilith's power was her just standing there and defeating the Four Satans and the Olympians as well as killing Euclid by smiting him.**

**And finally emiya-excalibur says: When Issei went "surprise motherfucker" part of me was honestly expecting him to say "you should gone for the head" but by now that is over used so \\_(ツ)_/**

**1\. Lilith has so many names at this points you could make a band if you split the names up with the different personality each name uses.**

**2\. Also *looks at Lilith's GPS Ranking* If that is her Ranking, what in the hell was the power level of God of the Bible? I am truly questioning if he is really dead in your story or is just in a very deep sleep recovering his energy. In chapter 3 the Archangels said if they had their full power they could have taken care of Trihexa easily. So that makes me question how powerful their Father is. Although I have a feeling that will be explained in so way.**

**Anyway can't wait to see the reunion between Issei and his Onee-Chan while everyone else collectively shits their pants at 1) Her being there in the first place and 2) Her interaction and sisterly relationship with Issei. It will be chaotic and I will love it.**

**Everyone did shit their pants in this chapter or at least figuratively. I hope you liked how I started with a flashback to set the scene as to how Issei and Lilith actually met each other and this chapter, you saw how powerful Azrael was if Lilith wouldn't even fight her. I was actually gonna use the "you should have gone for the head" thing but decided that people have used it one too many times.**

* * *

**So that's the end of Season 1. I know half of you expected me to start with Carry On Wayward Son what with all the Supernatural references scattered all over the story but no. Anyway, all the dialogue between Lucifer and her daughter were Lilith responding in English/Japanese and Lucifer talking to her in Enochian. I used a mix of an Enochian Dictionary and an Enochian Encoder to make up words in the language that didn't exist. Azrael showed a minuscule drop of her full power in this chapter. Lilith wants to use the Demon Army to bring paradise into this world by tearing down the old one. I know cliche ass plot with a villain who wants to build a new world blah blah Madara blah blah Aizen blah blah standard visionary villain with assimilation plot. Bite me okay. Anyway, that's all for now. Remember, review, follow, fav if you like the story. Or if you want to say something. Remember no flames. Or I will shame you in public by putting your post up on Reddit and turning the entirety of r/fanfiction against you. Remember to always have a great day/night or not. The choice is yours!~**


	26. Season 2 Preview

**Just a friendly trailer for the new season. Here is the trailer for chapter one!**

"What is it Gasper?" Kiba said.

"That store. There's magic coming from inside it," he said pointing at it. The store was called Van Astrea Store of Mysteries. Upon closer inspection, they found that the store was open and went inside. The store was filled to the brim with magic props. Hats. Wands. A box with the saw. Even a rabbit but they still felt it. Magic energy permeated the entire store.

"Can I help you?" they turned to see a woman wearing a white blouse at the register. The woman was beautiful. She possessed rose-red hair and blue eyes that just seemed to pull anyone in.

Risa's eyes grew wide as she realized why the demons weren't entering the town. The two inhabitants here were the reason and they just found one of them. She gulped as she shakily took a step back.

The woman smiled and waved her hand causing the doors and windows to lock.

**The End of the Chapter one of the new season preview. Hope you enjoy. I found that I had more time so I project that the new season will begin this Saturday or Sunday!**

**Have a great day or not! The choice is yours!**


	27. A New War On The Horizon

**Pyre: Weeeeelllllcoooommmmmeeee baaaaack everyone! Welcome to Season 2 of Til Midnight! I forgot to mention that these have openings! Season 1's opening was from Arifureta, Flare. This season's opening is from Nanatsu No Taizai: Fukkatsu no Jikkai, Howling by Flow x GranRodeo. Anyway, I'm too lazy to write in an opening! So let's gooooo! Here are the poll results:**

**Both: 11**

**Artemis: 4**

**Murayama: 2**

**This is the last change to the harem guys! Anyway, let's begin.**

**Issei: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, March 12, 2020, 11:15 AM; Current Time: 2 Minutes and 55 Seconds Til Midnight**

* * *

Issei sat at the Club President's desk doing club paperwork. Irina was sitting on a table next to his desk helping with said work. As he went over their club budget for things such as instruments and some of their other shady dealings such as tomes and other supernatural paraphernalia, a knock was heard on their door.

"Come in!" Irina said without looking up from her pile of papers.

The door opened revealing Murayama, who was holding a form close to her chest. Katase followed closely behind her shooting dirty looks at Issei, who ignored them. Murayama nervously made her way to Issei's desk. The Garden of Eden was the music club who played at the school festival and ever since their performance, applications rolled in like water in a river. Of course, every application was rejected by the club and an announcement was made that the club was invite-only. She thanked whoever was in charge of Fate that she was friends with Isabelle, whose true name she learned was Ingvild Leviathan. She had given her a form of application for the club and said that she liked her voice after the devil had heard her singing in the girls' shower room.

"Umm, Issei?" she said gulping. Issei looked up from his work and saw Murayama.

"Oh, Murayama, what do you need?" he said. Murayama handed him her application form.

Issei looked it over and was about to let her down easy when he saw Ingvild's insignia on it. An invite? Why would she- oh, Murayama still needed to learn how to use her powers properly. Issei shook his head and chuckled. That girl was always five steps ahead of him. Issei grabbed a large stamp that he had bought for the club and stamped her paper.

"Congrats on joining," Issei said handing her back her form with a smile. "Club meetings are every day from 3:30 to 7 PM in this room."

Murayama let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly. Katase looked mildly surprised. Matsuda and Motohama had been the first to try and join the club but were immediately shot down so why Murayama? Even with the invite-only condition, she hadn't expected her friend to get accepted.

"Thank you! I look forward to being a member of your club and make you proud shisou!" Murayama said bowing.

Issei sweatdropped at the sight while Irina giggled. Murayama had somewhat become Issei's unofficial apprentice at the school learning her powers from him. Most of them thought it was Lily but Lily didn't count since the girl received training from all of them.

Murayama bowed her head slightly once more before leaving with a very confused Katase in tow.

"What was that all about?" Katase asked her.

"Huh? Oh, that, Issei was the one who found me when I went missing remember?" she said.

Katase nodded. "I know you feel grateful and all but did you really have to look like you idolized the pervert?"

Murayama pondered her friend's words. Yes, Issei was still a pervert. He peeked with the M and M duo now and then but she had seen a different side of Issei especially when his sister died or supposedly died. Suffice to say, she had a healthy amount of respect and reverence for him for getting her out.

"C' mon let's go get lunch," Katase said as they neared the cafeteria. Murayama nodded and followed her.

Issei sighed in content and relief as he finished the paperwork. Next, to him, Irina finished at around the same time as he did.

"Finally!" she said leaning back on her computer chair.

"You know? No one's in here right now. You want to participate in a stress-relieving club activity?" Issei said shooting her a perverted grin.

Irina nodded shooting a smirk before she got on top of Issei and crashed her lips into his. The two began to furiously make out as their tongues clashed for dominance. Eventually, Issei relented and let her in and moaned slightly as Irina's tongue explored his mouth practically licking him on the inside. Issei raised a hand and groped her breast causing Irina to moan in pleasure as she began to grind on his hardening member. The two separated from their kiss with a trail of saliva connecting their mouths. Issei suddenly lunged and began to attack her neck leaving kissing and sucking on it. Irina moaned in approval as her hand made her way down to Issei's crotch and grabbed the bulge forming in his pants. Before she could go any further, a shrill voice was heard in the room.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Mitsuki yelled snapping the two out of their lust induced haze. Issei and Irina quickly separated and stood slightly apart from each other with red faces. Irina raised the collar of her uniform in an attempt to cover the hickeys that were already forming on her neck.

Mitsuki looked at them with a slightly annoyed look with her hands on her hips. "Do that later, Aniki! Irina! Class is about to start," she said looking at them. Mitsuki formed a magic circle and grabbed a scarf from her magical storage and tossed it to Irina. "Here! Don't want anyone else to find out do you?" she said before walking out of the room.

Irina wrapped the scarf around her neck and grabbed Issei's hand as the two walked out of their club room and back to class.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 7:15 PM**

* * *

Everyone sat around the living room waiting for someone to show up. Earlier that day, Azrael had told them that someone she knew was coming to the house to meet with them and that they should be expecting them later tonight. Rias and the girls weren't at home as of the moment considering that most of them moved out and into Akeno's shrine. Asia was the only one who stayed as Akeno had run out of rooms at her shrine for her so she was currently in her room doing her homework.

"So, any ideas on when whoever is coming is gonna get here?" Bikou asked balancing a pen on his nose.

"I don't know. They could be sitting right next to you," an unfamiliar voice caused Bikou to jump up squealing. Everyone shot out of their seats and activated their powers. There sitting on the couch right next to where Bikou sat was a woman slightly older than they were. She had shoulder-length auburn hair styled with a ponytail on the side of her head. Her hazel eyes were so full of mischief and glee at the fact that Bikou was scared out of his wits by her sudden appearance. She wore a white longsleeved uniform like sweater with black straps and a black skirt. She had black leggings and short white boots.

One collective thought was inside their heads. When in the hell did she get there and how?

She looked up and smiled slyly at them. Issei's eyes slightly widened as he saw the image of Lilith appear behind the girl with the same smile. "Hello there," she said sipping her tea.

"Lady Harmonia, please don't disappear like that again!" Risa came barreling through the front door looking ragged.

"Sorry about that Ri-chan! But I wanted to meet them I could hardly wait," the now-named Harmonia got up and patted Risa on the head.

"Risa-sama?" Irina said.

"Hey," the tanuki angel said waving at them.

"Not to look like we don't want you here but why are you two here?" Kiba asked.

"Well, Az-obaa-chan wanted me to come to meet with you guys!" Harmonia said.

"Raphael-sama assigned me to assist you guys," Risa said straightening herself.

Harmonia looked at Issei with a twinkle in her eye. "So you're my uncle? Mom always told stories about how her little Issei-chan was," she said.

"Uncle? I don't think Mitsuki has any kids," he said looking at his sister and Vali. Mitsuki glared at him with a red face while Vali choked on air.

"What? No! Mom! Lilith?" she said. Issei's eyes widened.

"You're Mon-Mon! Nee-chan always told me about you when I was a kid!" Issei said pointing at you. Harmonia slapped her forehead in annoyance.

_Of course, Mom would use that accursed nickname,_ she thought in annoyance. She shook her head as she remembered why she was here.

"Let's get straight to the point shall we?" Harmonia said to them. They all nodded.

"We're going to Olympus to see my father. You're all in desperate need for an upgrade in your equipment considering what's happening," she said waving her hand causing the TV to switch on.

_Reports of mass crop failures and freak storms have been reported all over the globe. The latest of these storms claimed the lives of over three thousand people…_

They all looked at the TV eyes wide. They were no stranger as to what was happening. Demons were running rampant all over the globe and Vali Team and Eden Squad had been sent to help hunt them down but they could never be everywhere at once. The Celestial Council wasn't much of a help either. The Gods were too busy arguing on how to deal with the demons to be able to do anything effective.

"You guys ready?" Harmonia asked. They all nodded and she formed a massive magic circle teleporting them all to her father's workshop.

* * *

**Mt. Olympus, 7:30 PM**

* * *

The group arrived in a flash of violet light to see Aphrodite storming out of Hephaestus's temple with a furious look on her face. Her hair was frazzled and she reeked of sex. Behind her was Ares, whose clothes were somewhat on. Harmonia rubbed her temples in annoyance as the two passed the group with Aphrodite sending her a quick smile. The group cautiously walked up to Hephaestus's temple/forge.

"Wait here," Harmonia said as she walked over to the door and knocked.

"Dad… you okay in there?" she asked.

"Yeah, come in," a tired voice was heard. Harmonia motioned for the group to follow her as they walked into Hephaestus's temple. The temple was the exact opposite of what they thought. Instead of a massive forge, the temple was a cozy home with a door leading to what they supposed was an industrial forge. The main living room had a carpet with large furniture set with a massive TV hanging from the walls. Hephaestus could be seen sitting down staring at the ground rubbing a silver ring on his left hand.

"I see you've all made it," he said smiling weakly at them.

"Dad, umm, we can come back later if you want," Harmonia said worried for her father. Hephaestus waved her off and motioned for them to follow him to his forge. The group followed him through a set of double iron doors and saw a massive forge. There was a large furnace with a large smelting pot. Various tools and anvils along with a blast furnace could be seen and finished weapons and unfinished ones littered the table.

"Right, so Azazel told me to reforge your personal weapons," Hephaestus said grabbing an apron from one of the racks.

"Reforge?" Mitsuki asked.

"Well, most of you. Some of you need weapons so go over to that rack over there and pick one up and see which one fits you the most. You Dhampir, I recommend a dagger for someone of your size," Hephaestus said eyeing Gasper.

The ones without weapons complied and walked over to the weapons rack and began to try out new weapons. The ones that did walked over to Hephaestus and handed over their weapons. After they did, Hephaestus led them over to a side of the forge that was devoid of any items save for a mess of runes engraved in a circular pattern on the ground.

"Alright, one by one, I want each of you to go and lie in the middle of the circle," he said.

They all looked confused.

"Umm, why?" Irina asked.

"I'm going to be taking a small portion of your soul," he said casually. Their eyes widened as they backed away from the circle.

"Relax. The process is not going to kill you. We just need to release a small portion of your soul," Risa said standing next to Hephaestus.

He nodded. "You'll be fighting demons. I believe that outfitting you lot with Enochian Weapons will help you survive against the stronger ones. As you are all right now, you can kill the lower ones but someone like Beelzebub. You'll need a weapon for them," he said.

"Well, wish me luck guys," Rossweisse said gaining the courage to step forward. She walked nervously to the middle of the circle and lied down.

"Alright, here's the thing. Once the ritual starts, you'll feel something on the inside. A pulling sensation of sorts. It's best to go with it. It feels different for everyone but the more you struggle against it, the more pain you will feel during the process," Hephaestus said. Rossweisse nodded nervously.

"Time to begin," he said. Hephaestus began to chant in Enochian causing the runes to glow. Several lines appeared and made their way intersecting and connecting to Rossweisse.

"MN IO-IAD. TBL ENHB ADGT TORZV," Hephaestus chanted.

Rossweisse arched her back and opened her mouth to release a soundless scream. Veins like silver fire spread all over from her neck like spider webs.

"DVLGA TILB BAB DE AR."

Her eyes began to glow silver.

"BAB DE FIFALZ TOFGLO SOB FGMM TILB."

A small wisp began to slowly come out of Rossweisse's mouth.

"A DGLGUFG DE ENHB. I QVO-I-APE ALDARIA NOALN DE ENHB ABOAPRI", Hephaestus finished. The small wisp flew rapidly out of Rossweisse's mouth and into the air. Hephaestus grabbed a vial inscribed with runes and opened it. The soul fragment sensing something flew to the open vial and into it. Hephaestus quickly popped on the cap and placed it back down.

The glow on Rossweisse died down and she groaned. "That was unpleasant," she moaned on the floor.

"How was it?" Irina said.

"Like going to the dentist and having all their tools shoved into one tooth," she said.

"Alright, who's next?" Risa said. The others followed in this order. Bikou, Arthur, Kiba, Irina, and finally Issei.

Hephaestus ended up with five vials of soul fragments after their batch went. He smiled as he looked at them. The others returned with their choice of weapons. Vali had chosen a long sword, Mitsuki had chosen a pair of wristblades Gasper chose a dagger just like Hephaestus predicted, Ingvild had chosen a kukri, Le Fay chose a wand like Rossweisse, and Kuroka picked a yoroi-doshi.

They repeated the process and Hephaestus had 12 vials full of souls.

"Your weapons will be ready in a few weeks to a month," he said. "I'll come by to deliver them then."

They all nodded and began to leave.

"Issei," Hephaestus said remembering something.

Issei stopped and looked back. "Yeah?" he said.

"I need a vial of your blood for your weapon," Hephaestus said. Issei raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you need my blood for the weapon?" he asked.

"Once your blood is applied, your new weapon will have abilities similar to your own," Hephaestus said.

Issei nodded and held his arm out. Hephaestus took a dagger and ran it across Issei's skin producing a cut. Blood poured from the wound and into a vial. Once the vial was filled up to halfway, Hephaestus took the vial and closed it. He walked over and grabbed a bandage and wrapped up Issei's arm.

"There," he said.

"Hey, um, thanks for this. I know you're busy with all the gods asking you to repair their weapons," Issei said.

Hephaestus waved it off. "No need to thank me. You are technically my brother in law," he said. Issei's eyes grew wide with surprise.

"You're the one Nee-chan always talks about back then. I thought you were married to Aphrodite?" he asked.

"I'm married to Aphrodite in name only. I only accepted to prevent a civil war on Olympus. Your sister is the only woman I'll ever love," he said. Issei went silent for several moments.

"Well, I have to go now. I have school tomorrow," he said.

"Be careful," Hephaestus said as Issei left. He sighed and walked back into his forge. He looked at a picture of him, Lilith, and a young Harmonia. Lilith looked different in this photo. Instead of her usual snow-white hair, her hair in this photo was a beautiful shade of raven black. Her appearance was more doll-like as opposed to her usual appearance. This was the form his wife took when she served under Aphrodite as the Grace, Aglaia. Hephaestus sensed an all too familiar energy signature inside his forge.

"You can come out now," he said. A woman walked out from behind the weapons rack It was Lilith. She looked as beautiful as ever.

"Heph," she said looking at him nervously as if he would reject her sudden appearance into his temple.

"Lilith," he replied.

The two stayed silent just looking into each other's eyes with longing. Eventually, they gave in to their emotions and crossed the distance between them embracing each other. Lilith grabbed Hephaestus's face and kissed him deeply. Tears of joy ran down both their faces. They touched their foreheads and just looked at each other.

"I missed you," he said.

"I know. I missed you too," she said as she savored the warmth that she received from being held between his arms. "How is she?" Lilith said looking at the photo of the three. She missed her daughter terribly.

"She's doing fine. Harmonia is just confused as to why you suddenly disappeared all those years ago," Hephaestus said as he led her to a couple of seats.

"I see," Lilith said sitting down on a chair next to his.

"Come home to us. Harmonia misses you. I miss you," he said.

"I- I can't…" she said sadly.

"I see," he said looking at her sadly.

"Please understand! I'm trying to bring peace. To bring Paradise to the world," Lilith said trying to get him to see her side.

"But you're going to kill so many people in pursuit of it," he said.

"I'm willing to suffer for the rest of eternity with their blood on my hands if it means that future generations will never have to experience the horrors this world has to offer ever again. For our family to never have to experience something like that" she said.

"But why you? Why can't it be someone else!? You've given enough to this world. Please just come home to your family," Hephaestus said.

Lilith looked down. "Because it has to be me. It was my mother's job to guard Creation and maintain peace and balance. Now it's mine… don't you understand? I'm doing this for you. For Harmonia. For Issei. I'm doing this for our family," she said with hollow eyes. Being away from them had worn her down over the years and now that they were on opposite sides, it had begun to chip away further at Lilith's spirit. But it needed to be done, for Paradise to come here. For her loved ones to be safe at last.

Hephaestus looked at her and she looked at him before sensing the approach of several gods to his temple.

"I have to go. We'll meet again but I know that we'll be on opposite sides in this war," she said turning around to leave.

"I know but I'll be waiting for the day when you come back to us," he said to her. Lilith froze at his words and a tear rolled down her face. She quickly turned around and planted one last kiss on his lips before leaving.

Hephaestus stared for a very long time at the spot where his wife once stood. He got back to work on working on the kids' new weapons.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, March 17, 2020, 5:45 PM**

* * *

"C' mon Murayama! Is that all you got!?" Issei said as he parried another attack from the girl.

Murayama grit her teeth in frustration. It had been two hours since they started this training session and Issei had blocked all of her attacks effortlessly. Just how much training did Issei and everyone in the club go through? To her right, Issei's younger sister, Lily, was also practicing her powers. She had more mastery over her powers than she did if the large tornado of ice wasn't any indication as to how far she had come.

Murayama formed a ball of darkness and fired it at Issei who easily dodged. She formed light in her other palm and fired it at Issei. Issei shielded himself from the light. Unlike the other children, Murayama could fire light like that of an angel's. It felt holy in nature. If she mastered it, she could easily pass herself off as a fallen angel since the wings could be shaped to be like that of one.

A CC appeared in front of Issei.

_Sensei?_ Issei thought as he looked at who called.

"Yes?"

"Issei? We need your team to come here for something," Azazel said over the CC.

"Right, we'll head there immediately," he said. Issei dismissed the circle and called everyone over.

"Murayama, we'll have to cut your training short so practice your powers at home. Everyone else, we need to go to Az-nee's apartment," Issei said. They all nodded and Eden Squad all teleported to Azrael's apartment. Upon entering the room, Issei saw all Six Archangels and the Satans there waiting for them. Vali Team and Rias's peerage were there as well.

"What is it that you need us all for Nii-sama?" Rias asked.

"You three are currently the only teams we have on standby as of the moment. Sitri Team is in Romania and Bael Peerage is in Kenya dealing with something so you're it. You three will head to Oregon. The Elder God, Kumush, of the Modoc Pantheon, has reported the strange occurrences. You three are to go and investigate them," Sirzechs said.

The teams nodded.

"Okay, you guys can head there now," he said. All three teams teleported from the apartment.

* * *

**Salem, Oregon, 6:30 PM**

* * *

The teams arrived in the capital of Oregon.

"You guys made it!" they all turned to see Risa standing there waiting for them. She wore a red overcoat over her white hoodie and black skirt. "So, are you ready?"

The groups nodded to her.

"Okay, we're all heading to Fremont, Oregon. It's at the very center of the activity," she said as she looked at them. "I have confirmed that demons are circling the town but aren't entering for unknown reasons. There isn't a barrier or anything surrounding the town. They seem to be scared of what's inside," Risa said, "So be careful when investigating the town. Any questions?"

Rias raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Umm, what exactly is inside the town that they're so scared of?" Rias asked her. Risa's entire body went rigid at the question.

"Umm, I'm not entirely sure. Only that two massive power signatures are coming from inside the town. When I tried to investigate them, I found myself on the outskirts again," she said. She was honestly confused as to what happened.

"Right, let's get going," Issei said. They all nodded and formed teleportation circles and locked onto Risa's signature as it appeared on the edge of town. They all teleported in a red flash and arrived outside of Fremont in front of the welcome sign.

"Get down!" Risa yelled at them. The group immediately hunkered down in the shrubbery. They all looked to the sky and saw trails of black smoke weaving their way across the sky.

"Demons…" Ingvild said. They all waited for the demons to leave the area and made their way out from the bushes.

"Remember, be careful," Risa said as she walked into town. They all nodded at her warning once more and followed her in.

Freemont was a small quaint town. The buildings were all styled in Scandinavian architecture showing that the town's founders did come from the Nordic area of Europe and had brought along more than just themselves and their belongings. People walked down the street chatting animatedly at each other as they talked of mundane things such as book clubs and where they went over the weekend.

"Split up so we cover more ground," Risa said. They all split up based on the group they belonged to with Risa going with Eden Squad.

"So what do you think the demons are so scared of that they won't go in?" Gasper asked them.

"I don't know," Issei said.

"What if it's another Prince like the ones in Alpirsbach?" Mitsuki said.

"There are six of them left with Beelzebub dead right? It stands to reason that we might run into one here," Rossweisse said.

"Most of them are retired so we don't have to worry about them attacking us but be careful, the Princes love their solitude and peace," Risa said. "On the off chance that we do run into one here, do not do anything to piss them off. The Colt is out of bullets and I'm not powerful enough to even think of fighting one," she said.

The group walked around for a few hours exploring the town and looking for anything, in particular, that was off. The town seemed pretty normal for the most part. It had everything a small town in America had. Mom and Pop stores, though there was the occasional corporate store located on a street corner like Starbucks, the local town meth heads, and all the other things. As they walked, Gasper spotted a store that seemed out of place. Not out of place as in, it didn't belong, out of place as in it felt weird. Magical energies poured from the store from what he could sense and make out.

"What is it, Gasper?" Kiba said.

"That store. There's magic coming from inside it," he said pointing at it. The store was called Van Astrea Store of Mysteries. Upon closer inspection, they found that the store was open and went inside. The store was filled to the brim with magic props. Hats. Wands. A box with the saw. Even a rabbit but they still felt it. Magic energy permeated the entire store.

"Can I help you?" they turned to see a woman wearing a white blouse at the register. The woman was beautiful. She possessed rose-red hair and blue eyes that just seemed to pull anyone in.

Risa's eyes grew wide as she realized why the demons weren't entering the town. The two inhabitants here were the reason and they just found one of them. She gulped as she shakily took a step back.

The woman smiled and waved her hand causing the doors and windows to lock. Their eyes grew wide as they saw her do that. Their hands immediately went for their weapons but the woman spoke calming them down.

"Now, now, I'm not here to fight you. I do need this store to make money to put food in my fridge you know," she said. "Risa, it's been so long since I've last seen you. You were just a teenager when you decided to challenge an Archangel to a fight."

"A-Avan," she said shakily. The woman, who was now known as Avan, kept smiling at them.

Risa immediately prostrated herself in front of the woman shocking everyone in the room except for Avan, who merely sweatdropped at the sight.

"I'm so sorry for not showing you the proper respect Lady Avan!" she said.

"Risa, you know you don't have to do that right?" she said trying to get the poor tanuki to stand up. "It's okay! I forgive you!"

"You do?" Risa asked.

"Yes," Avan said in an exasperated manner. "So you going to introduce me to your friends?" Avan asked her.

"Right!" Risa immediately stood up and gestured to Eden Squad. "This is Eden Squad, Lady Avan. They're my wards. Eden Squad, this is Lady Avan, wife of Cain, the Firstborn Son of Adam and Eve."

Their jaws dropped when they heard that last bit of information. This youthful woman that stood before them was ancient. Even older than some of the deities that they knew.

"H-how are you-?" Irina asked.

"Still alive?" Avan finished. "Original Humans aren't like the humans you know now. We have an immensely powerful lifeforce that allows us to live indefinitely like Angels, Demons, and Gods but we still share the same weaknesses as humans do." She formed a summoning circle and summoned some food. Apple Pie. The smell made their stomachs growl. Avan chuckled a little.

"Do you want to go get your friends or do you want me to set off one of my teleportation traps and bring them here?" Avan asked.

"I'll get them," Mitsuki said and left the store. They waited for several minutes for Mitsuki to return. She came back with the ORC and Vali Team in tow and they flooded inside. Avan looked at the large group and sighed.

"It's a bit cramped in here," Avan said. "Let's relocate shall we?" Avan snapped her fingers and forms a massive runic circle and teleports them to a living room.

They all blinked and found themselves inside a rather large and homey suburban house. The walls were painted blue and various photos hung from the wall. There was one of her, a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes, a young girl with blue hair and blue eyes, a boy with red hair and blue eyes, and a younger girl with the same shade of blue hair as the other.

"Honey! We have guests!" Avan called out.

"Yeah, yeah, let me finish up what I'm doing!" he called from the second floor.

"Right, so why are you here?" she said her face turning serious.

Risa contemplated her words fearing that she would say the wrong thing and this powerful woman would wipe them all out. As she moved to speak, Issei spoke for them.

"We're here because this town seems to be surrounded on all sides by demons," Issei said. Avan turned her scrutinizing gaze to Issei appraising him. Her eyes turned violet for a split second and turned her gaze away from Issei and looked at her tea.

"Hmm, you assume we don't already know. We've already had several demons come to our front door to try and recruit my husband for Lilith's mad crusade," she said sipping her tea. They all turned as they heard footsteps come down the stairs.

"You were gone for a while. A client giving you trouble," she said without looking.

A man with dark brown hair and blue eyes like the one in the photo walked down the stairs. He wore a white collared long sleeve shirt with a black vest and black pants. The man looked the group over and saw Issei.

Issei's eyes widened. This man. He was as powerful as Beelzebub if not more so. The man smiled as his sclera turned black and his blue eyes glowed slightly.

"So what are the famous Red Dragon Emperor and his friends doing here in my house?" the man asked.

Risa looked with fear present in her eyes at the man. She made the sign of the cross and bowed respectfully to him.

"Lord Cain. It has been a while since I have been under your tutelage," she said.

The others' eyes widened to extreme proportions. Cain? The Father of Murder? Here?

Cain noticed their looks of shock and surprise and looked blankly at them.

"What are you looking at me like that for? I'm retired not dead," he said.

"B-but! You! Here!" Irina stammered out as her hand reached for Hauteclere. As a Christian, she had been taught that Cain had killed Abel out of jealousy and now, the man stood in front of her.

Cain noticed her cross necklace and sighed. "I didn't do it you know," he said. Cain pulled out two necklaces with two Enochian runes engraved into them.

Irina noticed the necklace and slightly loosened her grip on Hauteclere's hilt. "What happened?" she said looking at him warily.

"Our descendants happened. They were jealous because of our seeming immortality. In a bid of jealous rage, they murdered my mother, my father, and my brother. Some of our family escaped but ultimately, a lot died in the escape," he said sadly.

"How did you become a demon?" Issei said sending the others sans Risa and Avan further into shock.

"That's a long story that's best left for next time," Cain said. "So, how long do you have left?"

Issei was taken aback by the question. "How did you-"

"Know? Demons can sense when the presence of a damned soul," Cain said as he gave Issei another once over. The boy's soul wasn't bound by a normal deal. This deal was being reinforced by someone very powerful. Cain whistled at the sight.

"So why are you really here?" Cain asked.

"We've been asked to investigate this area by the Celestial Council," Vali said to him.

"Those old geezers finally got their pantheons to see it their way huh? About time," Avan said as she took another sip of her tea. "I heard that the Earth's Pantheons haven't been united since the Holy War so this is a welcoming development."

"Lady Avan. I know that it's too much to ask but if you may find it in yourself to… help us in this war," Risa asked.

Cain and Avan looked at the reincarnated angel with a blank look.

"Well, that would mean coming out of retirement and I like my retirement. Being a software engineer makes me feel like my Grandfather but it seems that if I want to continue my life, I might have to join in," Cain said with a shrug.

"I guess that's the best yes you can get from him. I'm with my husband so you can count us in," Avan said.

"That's wonderful!" Irina said clapping her hands together.

"We'll meet with this… council of yours in a few days. In the meantime, stay awhile. We have plenty of rooms available," she said.

"Um, not to come off as rude but we have to go to school tomorrow," Ingvild said.

"Of course, education is very important for young people like yourselves. Well, then, remember to come and visit. Old people like us never get visitors anymore," Avan told her with a smile.

"Right, we'll be letting ourselves out," Issei said bowing slightly. As they prepared to leave, a crash was heard at the front door of the house. Cain and Avan sighed in annoyance.

"Go out the back," Cain said as he stretched out his hand causing a blade to fly into it. Avan stood up and her eyes began to glow violet.

"Go…" Avan said. The group quickly clamored out the back door of the house to get away from their wrath.

A group of fifty demons made their way into the house and surrounded the two.

"We grow tired of waiting for a reply. Either say yes and we leave or say no and we kill you. What's it gonna be, old man?" a demon said as he looked at Cain with arrogance ever-present in his eyes.

"*sigh* Demons like you are what give our race a bad name. No respect for your elders," Cain said as he vanished from sight. The demons' eyes all widened as they desperately searched for him. The demon that insulted Cain suddenly found himself being lifted into the air. Red light poured out from his eyes and mouth before Cain snapped his neck killing him.

Avan raised her palm and gathered violet lightning. "**Attenuare,**" she said as a beam of violet lightning arced towards the demons hitting them. The demons spasmed as their power was being sapped and their bodies being destroyed from the inside out.

"Just like our 500,000th wedding anniversary," Avan said smirking at her husband, who simply replied with a battle-hungry grin.

Issei and the others ran rather far away from the house but close enough to still see it. They all looked back and saw the house light up as red and violet flashes of light came from the windows. A crashing sound was heard as they saw Cain throw a demon out from the window and surf the demon past them killing it instantly.

Another crashing sound was heard as Avan burst through the roof forming a massive violet magic circle in the sky. Thunder clouds rolled in and the winds began to pick up as an onslaught of violet lightning rained down from the sky killing the demons as they began to flee.

"Oh no you don't," Avan formed a black magic circle and gathered a large amount of mana. "**Damnation**," she said as a massive black hole formed sucking in all the demons and all matter around it.

On their end, Cain was ruthlessly slaughtering all the demons that had followed him with a bored expression on his face. Why did they have to send small fry?

"Should we leave?" Issei whispered to Rossweisse, who looked on at the scene in a stupor. She nodded and began to form a magic circle back to Kuoh. The entire group disappeared in various flashes of light back to Kuoh.

Cain pulled his blade out of the body and sensed a familiar signature approaching at a rapid pace. The demon that attempted to attack Cain was immediately beheaded. Cain looked up and saw a woman with blue hair and blue eyes sheathing her rapier.

"Hey Dad," the blue-haired woman said to him.

"Vigne," Cain said.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, March 18, 2020, 3:45 AM**

* * *

The entire group crashed through the front door breathing heavily. The lights went on and they saw Issei and Mitsuki's mother rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What are you all doing? Why are you cosplaying this late at night?" Miki said as she saw them. Their eyes all widened when they realized that Risa, Koneko, and Kuroka had their ears out.

"Yes, what you doing?" they all turned to see Harmonia in a see-through nightgown rubbing her eyes and yawning. Bikou fell back as blood spurted out his nose. Issei looked away covering his nose.

_Her oppai…_, Issei thought as he tore his gaze away. Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka noticed this and glared at Issei. Harmonia also noticed as she walked over to Issei and grinned slyly.

"Issei, do you want to cop a feel?" she said pushing her breasts up making them look larger than they were. Issei's entire face turned red and closed his eyes. Harmonia felt that he had enough and laughed madly.

"HAHAHA! You should've seen your face," she said wiping away a tear. "Haah, sorry Uncle, but I already have my eyes on someone," Harmonia said as she looked at his red face.

"Besides, you have three beautiful women waiting for you," she said smiling at him. Irina grabbed Issei's arm and glared at Harmonia causing her to laugh.

"Hahaha! You guys are so cute! Anyway, I'm heading back to bed," Harmonia said as she walked back upstairs.

Issei, Kuroka, Irina, and Rossweisse watched as Harmonia walked up the stairs followed by Issei's mother. Hearing snickering, they turned and saw everyone except for Rias and the ORC girls holding in their laughter.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, 10:45 AM**

* * *

Azrael looked out over her class as she was teaching. Issei was snoring on his desk, Irina was struggling to stay awake, Mitsuki had already fallen asleep and was drooling, and don't even get her started on Vali and Kuroka. The only ones who were awake were Kiba, Arthur, and Bikou but they too were starting to fall into the embrace of sleep. A knocking prevented her from yelling at them to wake up and pay attention.

Azrael walked over and opened the door and her eyes lit up when she saw the two. "Please wait here," she said getting the entire class's attention. Azrael clapped her hands as loudly as she could without shattering every window in Kuoh and every town for the next several hundred miles.

Issei, Mitsuki, Vali, and Kuroka all jumped awake. "YES, THE ANSWER IS 5.68!" they all blurted out at the same time. Azrael looked at them dryly while the whole class laughed at their now embarrassed faces.

Azrael sighed in annoyance. "Right, starting from now on, this class will have two student teachers that will help. You can come in," Azrael said.

The boys all cheered when a young woman with brown hair reaching down to her back walked in. Her eyes were a scarlet pink that shined in the light. She wore a white hoodie and a red skirt with brown knee-high socks coupled with long boots.

Eden Squad and Vali Team immediately recognized her as Risa, Eden Squad's personal guardian angel.

The second woman looked familiar to them. She had chestnut brown hair like Irina but her eyes were hazel. Her smile was beautiful and bewitched every male in the room. To the female students, she looked like a princess. Prim. Proper. Graceful. Beautiful. The devils, cambion, and angel in the room recognized her from the Van Astrea Family Photo.

"Issei…," Irina said as she wearily eyed the woman.

"Yeah, I know," Issei said as his guard went up. This woman felt like a void. Her power was larger than his own and Risa's. The mere feeling of it made him want to claw his eyes out.

"My name is Risa Mikazuki," Risa bowed and introduced herself. "Please take care of me!" she said smiling a smile that was both cute and alluring. The boys in the class drooled at the sight of her.

"93-55-86!" Motohama said adjusting his glasses. He turned his gaze to the other woman. "85-59-82!" Motohama froze when the woman turned her gaze towards him. That smile that once bewitched him and every student in the classroom now terrified them.

Motohama sweated in fear as he watched himself being torn apart in the most brutal way over and over again until he passed out.

Azrael looked at her and the woman rubbed the back of her head smiling sheepishly. "Introduce yourself to your new students," she said. The woman turned to them.

"I am Vigne April Van Astrea. A pleasure to meet you all~," Vigne said as she curtsied slightly in front of the entire class.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 587**

**File Name: Cain**

**GPS Rank: S-Rank Deity Class Demon**

**File: Cain is the eldest son of the two Original Humans, Adam and Eve. He is the brother of Abel and Aclima, the First Prophet. Contrary to what is written and known in the Bible, Cain did not kill Abel. Abel was murdered alongside their parents by their jealous descendants in a bid for immortality. Fleeing Nod with his sister, Cain meets the Archangel Lucifer who grants him demonhood after being asked if he wanted to protect his sister from his descendants. Cain would then go on to form an ancient order of Demons called the Knights of Hell.**

**End File**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 588**

**File Name: Avan**

**GPS Rank: S-Rank Deity Class Human**

**File: Avan is the last living member of race of Original Humans (Homo Deus). She is the wife of the Demon Cain and is known worldwide as the White Witch. She is one of the foremost magic practitioners in the entire world wielding cataclysmic spells capable of summoning localized blackholes. Like her fellow Homo Deus, Avan is immortal but can be killed though it is very hard to kill her as she is highly resistant to poison and disease.**

**End File**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Let us begin!**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: I swear my heart almost stopped when you said last chapter but it restarted again once you said season 1. Take the time you need to relax and let the creative juices flow in order to make more delicious fanfictions. So was that tatsuya dump a tease for the rest? Since i just started jumping up and down the whole room from his ass getting dumped. I noticed that some of the girls like asia and xenovia didn't receive their tongue lashing so i hope to read it in season 2. And with the rest of the manwhores, i am so stoked to see them dumped too. Please make it as brutal and painful for them.**

**I'm sorry I almost sent you into cardiac arrest. I thought it would be funny to start with that. Tatsuya being dumped is a tease. They will be dumped but it will happen a few chapters into the season as well as the fact that you'll see darker side of Irina.**

**AnimeFan0216 says: If they want to break the deal, they should go straight to Ellie and complain and not Lilith. So that is Lilith's backstory huh, she is the lover of Hephaestus and has a Demon/ God hybrid daughter. Geez, Lilith has to endure her situation so that Issei, Hephaestus and Harmonia could live a world in peace. In this war, Lilith, Hephaestus and Issei will have a hard time because each of them will really hold back to the other when they fight. Just take your time in season 2, this upcoming war feels like the same as the great ninja war in Naruto.**

**The war is a prelude to something else. Something much worse. I feel like people are responding well to Lilith. I made her a mix of Itachi Uchiha and Mirajane Strauss. She looks like Mirajane Strauss too but one of her persona's looks like Rin Tohsaka. All are older siblings! You are also one of two people who made the connection to Naruto.**

**emiya-excalibur says: Man you just have to feel bad for Hephaestus the dude can't catch a break. First his mother yeets him off Mt. Olympus, next his sister-wife repeatedly cheats on him with anything that is vaguely attractive and finally he gets the daughter of the most attractive angel and has a kid with her only for her to go "I will recreate the world!" *Gives him hug***

**Can't wait for season 2!**

**I purposely did that. Oh, and you'll hate Aphrodite in this fic. She's not being bashed. I'm just using a combo of her mythical counterpart, Malty, and Riordan Aphrodite. She'll have her nice moments but to Hephaestus, well expect her to be a major bitch. She'll use the old "I was forced into this marriage" excuse.**

**Scrumblenut says: Sometimes Cliche is all one can do. Besides, i doubt that is the actual final goal of Lilith's mother... it just doesnt feel right for that to be the entire story... also, good idea with using a coded language for Lilith's Mother, it makes for a nice touch. And it was good to see Azrael show her power, even if it was only for a few moments. Take care**

**Thanks! It took me months to find a dictionary for the Enochian language and a useful encoder so thank you. The other Archangels are becoming stronger in this season with Azazel, Raphael, and Gabriel showing off feats befitting of the number of wings they have now. I won't say how many they have right now though.**

**OuroborosDragon says: So Lilith is pulling a sasuke. At the end of the Naruto manga sasuke wanted a revolution to bring about "true" peace and to do that he was going to destroy the shinobi system and reset things back because he believed that the shinobi alliance would fail as that was created because they were forced to under a common and more powerful enemy. Like the old saying goes " the enemy of my enemy is my friend".**

**I'm looking forward to season 2 and I hope you explore this concept of forcing peace under a common and more powerful enemy then have the cracks begin to show as factions begin to argue and fight amongst themselves, provoking war again and proving Lilith's words right as it was never addressed again in the Naruto series**

**I actually started showing the cracks. Small, microscopic ones in the first season but this season will explore that idea in fact. It always bothered me that all the factions just suddenly became friends after Trihexa like in Naruto when the five nations gained the power of nakama and just became chummy with each other afterward like all the things they did to each other was just suddenly forgotten. So yeah, I will play around with that idea.**

**sykartracer says: Man, this took literal FOREVER for me to finally sit down and write, but...*enter Mortal Kombat voice* Season 1 end, Season 2 START! Ok, so we know that that the flaming figure is Ellie, and she gave permission for Lily-Onee-Chan to be the one who reaps Issei's soul in a year (I still think the Great Dragon wants Issei for herself). You proved me right that Lily and Hephaestus had demonic demi-god children (or single child). To be honest, I cannot read minds (if I did, I don't know how I'd survive, there's just things you should never know) and the possible relationship between the two was just a guess, I had half-expected you to just say that they laid with each other once or twice. The Heiresses get their familial punishment. I was hoping Ravel would speak out, but she was probably raised stricter than Rias (who we all know was doted on, canon or no), so she knew that whatever punish she got, she deserved. I had hoped to actually see Kuroka tear strips out of her sister, and not just get a brief summary of it, but I can understand leaving that to readers imagination.**

**And don't worry about having to make up Enochian from scratch, I never knew that someone made a dictionary (or that you HAD a different, and probably better copy). But anyways, bring on Season 2.**  
**(Still hoping that Grayfia/Ophis will yell at Issei for giving Ellie her soul, and still don't understand why she had forbid the demons from making a soul pact with him)**

**Hmmm, in this season, the girls will one by one break up with the rest of the boys after what Rias and Akeno did to Tatsuya. It was Lilith that said "No you can't make deals with Issei" but Lucifer went "Make deals with Issei". The whole reason behind that was stated in their conversation but the conversation was in Enochian. **

**Just a Bad Writer for Fun says: I wonder where Cao Cao is? He's pretty cool, True Longinus and all that**

**Ummmm, uhhhh, oh look a bird. *Hits a door trying to run* Okay, jokes aside, other characters will make appearances in this season as the world realizes that they either have to remain united or begin to fall apart at the seems so others will appear. You saw some of them on the wiki.**

* * *

**Once again, welcome to Season 2. This entire season will be focused on two things: The true unity of the Supernatural World as they will be tested over and over again by Lilith who wants to tear the old world down and build paradise. The second: Issei's deal. Issei has one year to live so we'll focus on that as well. This chapter introduced a whole new slew of characters and more will come soon. I put a little something in the last season and made a hint to it in this chapter. It was such a small detail that no one noticed. I'll try to put in a lemon on the chapter for Issei's birthday as well as an omake as to how Mitsuki gained her crush on Vali and vice-versa. The courting ritual of angels and demons will also be introduced. I made it so that it would be deep. Anyway, I've been rambling on for too long. This chapter might have seemed all over the place but it was to introduce things. Before I end it, I've decided to try and write a Magic the Gathering Highschool DxD Crossover with Issei as a Planeswalker so keep an eye out for that. Remember, review, fav, follow if you like and want more. Have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~**


	28. Good Omens

**Pyre: Okay, guys. Here's the new chapter. I don't have much to say in the intro right now other than the war has officially begun. The minute you read the first sentence of this chapter. War has started and you'll see how they're starting to handle it this time. Also, allow me to explain what Azrael did at the end of chapter six. It seems that people are confusing power _removal_ and power _negation_. Her power negation only works within a certain vicinity of her and is temporary. Power removal allows her to remove their powers at will permanently. Sorry if it looks broken and if it was unclear but I kinda gave the Archangels in this fic Amped Up Supernatural Level Archangel powers. So, without further ado, let's do the intro.**

**Irina: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Libya, March 18, 2020, 11:45 AM**

* * *

People ran in a panic as large pillars of ice erupted from the ground itself. A family of four ran as the parents carried their children shielding them from the ice. The ice was not natural, in fact, snow wasn't natural in their part of the world. It had come out of nowhere. A blizzard of cataclysmic proportions. It froze everything in its path. Their first signal that something was off was that birds had fallen from the sky frozen to their very bones. The next sign was the creeping frost that has come from nowhere. Their window panes had frozen over. The temperature dropped to the point where snow began to fall from the sky and their breath began to appear. After that, all hell broke loose.

Ice spikes had erupted from the ground in the early morning. Tornadoes came down from the sky ripping everything in their path asunder. Lightning strikes battered the town, destroying entire buildings that were unfortunate enough to be struck. The father looked back as he saw the ice cloud getting closer freezing everything in its path. As he ran, he tripped on a piece of rubble and fell. His son began to whimper and cry as the father curled himself around him in an attempt to protect his son from the oncoming blast of frost.

Suddenly, a massive wall of fire erupted from the ground shielding them from the ice. A man wearing the clothes of a pharaoh appeared stood before the man and his son.

"GO! RUN!" he yelled as he kept the wall of fire going in an attempt to block the ice. The man nodded and ran carrying his son.

Ammon had gotten word that a freak ice storm was making its way around the Mediterranean leaving town after town in ruins with massive portions of the Sahara left as massive patches of frozen wasteland colder than the one in both the Arctic and Antarctica. The Celestial Council was no help. The Egyptians and the Greeks had pleaded with the others to help but some gods had been adamant on not expending resources for what they called "minor" incidents. Minor, his ass. This being that had been rampaging across all of Northern Africa and making their way to the coast of the Mediterranean wielded power equal to that of the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion.

The fire was suddenly extinguished and he was kicked back by an immensely powerful blow. Ammon crashed into a ruined building bringing the whole thing down on top of him.

The being in question was a woman with extremely long hair going down to the back of her legs. Her hair was ice blue which matched her cold blue eyes which stared at the place where the downed god crashed into. She wore a white general's uniform and had a very curvaceous figure. She raised a delicate eyebrow when a pillar of sand and fire erupted from the rubble completely burning and melting the rubble.

Ammon stood there bleeding from his arm and clutching his stomach. "Damn, she can hit…," he said, gripping his stomach.

"Need help?" a voice called out. A man with black hair and green eyes appeared next to him. He wore ornate green armor and his most striking features were his merman like features. His skin was slightly tinted green and had small patches of scales on his hands.

"Triton," he said as he gripped his staff to maintain his balance.

"Hey, Uncle Zeus sent me to investigate since the Council isn't making a move," he said as he summoned his trident.

"Really? Ra sent me for the same reason," he said.

"Tch! So much for a united front. All they're doing is debating while innocent people are killed," Triton said as he gripped his trident. Behind him, Poseidon appeared with a small army of mermen.

"You two alright," Poseidon asked. The two nodded and focused their gaze back on the woman.

"Huh… More of you," the woman said as she drew her rapier. Her eyes drifted to Poseidon. "Hmm, a Greco-Roman Deity. Perhaps you can tell me what I want."

Poseidon's eyes narrowed at her words. "What do you want?" he said.

"Tell me, where are the doors to Tartarus?" she said.

"Why do you want to know?"

"That is none of your concern. All I need to know is their location," she said.

"Well, then good luck with that. However, I will have to ask you to leave this area and its inhabitants alone," Poseidon said, pointing his trident at her.

"I see. I shall use more… unsavory methods to acquire the information I need," she said as the area around her began to freeze.

The gods and Poseidon's forces readied themselves to battle this mysterious woman in front of them.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, 11:55 AM**

* * *

Issei and the others had put their desks together and began to eat their lunch. Kuroka and Irina had gone all out with the food. They made yakisoba along with hamburger steak with some nigiri on the side. The yakisoba smelled divine. The noodles were a golden brown and the meat and vegetables that were mixed in glistened. The hamburger steak looked juicy and soft as if the meat would melt in their mouths the minute it entered it.

"Mmmmm, Kuroka, Irina, you two will be great wives one day!~" Issei said as his face was displaying orgasmic bliss from the food. The others around him nodded with the same expressions.

Irina and Kuroka turned cherry red at his words.

_Issei wants me to be his wife!_ the two thought at the same time as they held their red cheeks.

Over across the classroom, Xenovia watched the scene with sadness and jealousy. Next, to her, Yuu was going on and on about how horrible Issei was and how she made the right decision in moving out. Honestly, she just moved out because she thought Issei didn't want her there anymore.

"Hey, Xenovia! Hey!" she turned when Xenovia heard Yuu looking at her. "As I was saying…"

Xenovia's patience had reached a tipping point every second he spoke.

"Issei is too dangerous. You can't be around him anymore. Even on those missions, you take. I want you to turn them down and c-"

"And who the hell are you to tell me what to do!" she yelled. It was on and on every day. Issei is this. Issei is that. Stay away from him. Listen to everything I say.

"I'm your boyfriend!" Yuu yelled back at her.

"Well, you sound more like my mom than you do my boyfriend! I'm sick and tired of you treating me like a glass doll! Ever since Issei beat you during the games, you've been different!" she yelled, not caring that if she said more she would expose the Supernatural World.

The entire class had now began to look in their direction.

"It's because he's a menace and I don't want you anywhere near him! And besides, I know what's best for you," he said, trying to placate her.

"What's best for me? You have no idea what's best for me if you just want me to sit down and listen to what you say like a trained bitch!" Xenovia fired back.

"Well, aren't you?" he said. Xenovia's eyes grew wide at his words. The entire class, who had been whispering before, now went silent at Yuu's words.

"You've spent so much time with Hyoudou and he is known as the biggest pervert in the school. It won't be much of a surprise if you've become a nothing more than trained slut with all the time you've spent with him," Yuu said lowly.

Xenovia snapped and rammed her fist into his face breaking his nose. Yuu cried in pain as he fell out of the chair. He stared at Xenovia with wide, fearful eyes.

"We're through asshole!" she yelled with tears streaming down her face. The realization of what he just said had set in and he got up and attempted to grab Xenovia's arm.

Sensing his approach, she delivered a devastating kick sending him into the wall.

"Don't fucking touch me!" she screamed before storming out of the room. Asia immediately got up from her chair and ran after her. Eren looked at Yuu before shaking his head and ran after the two.

Issei looked at the scene with a small amount of satisfaction. However, he felt a small pang of pain at how Xenovia was treated.

"Issei," Irina said as she looked at him.

"Mmmh," he looked at her with a reassuring smile. Footsteps caught their attention as they saw Vigne walk up behind them with a smile.

"Hello there!" she said.

The group squirmed under her stare. A woman with this much power in the school and was also a demon unnerved them.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she said.

"Umm, no no, please," Kiba said. Vigne nodded and pulled out a chair and sat next to them. She noticed their tense, guarded expressions and sighed.

"You know I'm not going to kill you right?" Vigne told them in exasperation.

"Sorry," they said as they relaxed a little. Vigne smiled at this and released a pleasant, calming aura causing them all to relax even more.

"So, I hope my parents didn't put you off. They can be a little… embarrassing," she said.

"Huh?" Gasper asked in confusion.

"Oh, right, my mom and dad are Avan and Cain!" she said, rubbing the back of her head.

Mitsuki's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh, you're that little girl! Wait, wasn't your hair blue?" Mitsuki asked her.

"Oh, yeah, I can change my appearance, see?" Vigne lifted a strand of her hair and it changed color to blue.

"Whoa, that looks useful," Rossweisse said. "Are you using magic?"

"No, I'm just using my Miasma. I'm a Cambion like your little friends here," Vigne said.

"Friends? Only Issei is a cambion," Irina said to her.

"Really?" Vigne said as her eyes fell on one of them but quickly moved her glance to Issei before anyone could notice. "My apologies," she said to them.

"Don't worry about it," Kuroka said to her.

"So, the reason I came over here is because of this!" Vigne brought a small novel out of her bag. "Take a look at this for me and see if you can find anything… familiar," she said.

"Hmmm," Issei picked up the book and looked at it.

_High School DxD?_ he thought as he stared at the book cover.

"Umm, what is this?" Issei said as he held it up.

"It's a light novel. It isn't doing well in terms of sales but in popularity, people seem to like it but, you'll have to read it later. Class is starting," Vigne said as she saw Azrael walked into the room.

The class continued as normal but Issei kept staring at the novel that stuck out of his bag wondering what the hell High School DxD was.

The hours passed and the bell rang signaling that school was over. Students excitedly got up and began to pile out of the classroom. As Eden Squad and Vali Team got up and began to leave, Azrael stopped them on their way out.

"I need you guys to come with me. There's another meeting of the Celestial Council and since you came into contact with the Demon Knight Cain and the White Witch Avan, the gods all want to talk to you," Azrael said to them. Thor walked into the room dressed in his battle armor.

"C' mon, the other gods are becoming impatient," he said. Azrael nodded and made a signaling motion. Risa and Vigne got up and stood next to them.

"I'm sure you guys already have the area memorized. Just follow us to the building," Azrael said before she disappeared with the flapping of wings. Thor disappeared in a flash of blue light and Risa and Vigne disappeared with Risa disappearing in a flap of wings and Vigne dispersing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

**Mount Everest, 12:45 PM**

* * *

They arrived outside the massive double doors of the Amor Caelestis Civitatis (or the Celestial State Building). Azrael pushed the doors open and the secretaries all turned their heads at the sight of the Death Archangel.

"Azrael-sama," a voice said. They all turned their heads and saw a beautiful Japanese woman walked towards them. She had an orange kimono with what seemed like images of sunrise and dawn printed all over it. She bowed in respect to her which Azrael returned in kind.

"Az-tan, Ame-no-Uzume," they all turned and saw Azazel waiting for them with Penemue.

"This is an unorthodox meeting isn't it, oh twin of mine," Azrael said to him as she crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes it is," Azazel said. Penemue looked at the two and facepalmed as they stared at each other intensely.

"Let's go in shall we?" Azrael said.

"Yes, let's," Azazel said.

The two began to walk to the other set of double doors at the end of the hallway. They were making small talk and snickering at each other's jokes.

"Ne, Aniki, is that we look like to other people?" Mitsuki asked as she stared at the interaction between her two teachers.

"I don't know really," Issei said, mirroring his sister's expression.

Everyone behind them looked at them with dry looks. "Let's just go," Penemue said, following after them causing the others to follow behind her.

Eden Squad and Vali Team had only been inside the Celestial Council Meeting Room once and that was after Beelzebub's defeat. Like last time, the room was filled to its brim with deities. Ever since the demons had emerged, the gods had decided to forgo the two representatives per pantheon stipulation that was added when the Celestial Council was formed. Yelling could be heard as every god struggled to be heard on ways to deal with the demon threat. At the front, the head council was rubbing their temples with increasing frustration.

"Is it normally like this?" Irina asked Penemue. The Cadre shook her head.

"No, it's not. At least, it's not supposed to be," Penemue said staring out into the arguing mass of deities.

"What do you mean you won't send forces to assist us!?" Zeus yelled in a booming voice.

"It's an immense waste of resources! We need troops to deal with large scale threats! Not a small scale threat with the speculation that it is a demon!" a man replied. He wore black and white robes. His right arm was wrapped in bandages and his right eye was covered by bandages. In his left hand, he had a cane and sported an x shaped scar on his chin.

"Rudianos, is this not the reason that the council was created? To assist pantheons that require our help?" Serafall called from the Head Council Table.

"I am sorry Lady Leviathan but I cannot for good reason vote for the mobilization of DxD to the location. No evidence supports that these demons are responsible for the ice. If anything, it could be one of the Greco-Roman's rogue gods rampaging across the Middle East," Rudianos said.

"Of course you would blame us for this, Rudianos," Hera called from their space. "This all about that the time the Romans conquered Gaul is it not?" Hera glared at the crippled war god.

"I assure Hera that this is not due to some petty grudge. I am merely assessing the situation," he said.

"You damn hypocrite. Was it not you who suggested the mobilization of these forces in the first place," Susanoo said with his black eyes shifting to read. Next, to him, Amaterasu looked at him with her green eyes shining with disappointment.

"I have to agree with him," a voice called from the Norse stands. She had silver hair and violet eyes. She wore a black and red dress that for the most part, exposed most of her breasts and stomach.

"Freyja? You agree with this!?" Hades yelled at the Norse Deity.

"Yes, I do. I believe that it is pointless to send forces to investigate a rumor!" Freyja fired back at him.

"Rumors? What part of a blizzard in the northern Sahara is natural to you!? Besides, all of our deities are accounted for! Khione is currently in Canada so it can't be her!" Zeus said. His rage had reached a boiling point as the smell of ozone began to become more prevalent in the building.

"Freyja," Odin's voice rang from the Norse stands. "Despite your… compelling argument, I'm afraid that our pantheon will have to vote in favor of DxD investigating the anomalies. You can never be too sure," Odin said, looking at her with his one eye.

"Ophis, you've been quiet for the past several hours," a woman with flaming orange hair said from the Head Council Table.

"Yes, Forever Serpent, I would like to hear your input on this," Tsukuyomi added.

"Send them," she said to them.

"Lady Ophis, if I may, sending forces to-"

"Shut up," Ophis said, turning her blank gaze to Rudianos.

Rudianos grit his teeth and lashed out at the Dragon God. "Why the hell are you even on here!? It was because of you Khaos Brigade was formed in the first place. It was you that gave them the power and the means to catalyze the release of the Beast! It wa-"

An immense pressure fell throughout the entire room cutting Rudianos off. Ophis had stood from her seat and a violet aura of power began to surround her. Her blank, black eyes displayed a new emotion other than utter disinterest. Anger.

"Do not speak to me in such a manner, _insect_. You are nothing more than a fleeting spark the grand scheme of Creation. I have acknowledged that my actions have lead to an unsavory situation but I have stepped up and taken responsibility by assisting them in fixing the said situation," she said she towered over him.

"But it wouldn't have happened in the fi-"

"It would have happened either way. What Rizevim planned he planned long before I formed the Khaos Brigade," Ophis said.

"She's right. Whatever Rizevim had planned, he had planned for a while," Shiva said.

"Well, we still need to debate on whether or not to send forces to the northern Sahara," Serafall said to them.

"How about we vote?" Hestia suggested.

"Very well then, all for sending DxD to the northern Sahara say 'Ay'," a Filipino man in a black suit said to the deities.

"'Ay!'" about 49% of the room responded with an "Ay".

Serafall looked over the room and tallied the votes. "Keep going Bathala," she said.

"All for not say 'Nay'," Bathala said.

51% of the room voiced their disapproval thus sealing the vote. Zeus slammed his fist down on their Pantheon's table.

"How could you just abandon an entire region like that? It is not justice nor is it fair to abandon all those in the region!" Zeus thundered in a rage.

"You're one to talk," a Chinese man told him. "Was it not your pantheon that abandoned multiple demigod children that you all sired to their fates? Do I need to go on? The First Gigantomachy, the Second Titanomachy, the Second Gigantomachy? What of all the demigod children you've had Zeus that you have just left to Hera's wrath? Where were you, Zeus? In fact, where were you when your wife tossed your firstborn son off Olympus!" he said, driving each nail deeper in the Sky God's spirit.

Zeus went immediately silent at his words. Hephaestus had always been a sore point between him and Hera.

Azrael coughed bringing all the deities out of their arguments. "We're here. Are you ready for us?" she said. Eden Squad and Vali Team stood behind Azazel and Azrael.

"Yes, but where are Cain and Avan?" Tsukuyomi asked.

"They will be arriving shortly. For now, her daughter has volunteered to speak until they arrive," Azrael said, gesturing to Vigne.

Vigne stepped forward walking slowly to the center of the floor. With each step she took, her hair slowly turned blue and her eyes began to change color. Before them, stood a woman with blue hair and blue eyes with pointed elf-like ears. Vigne let out a confident smile as she stared the gods down daring them to say anything.

"Um, Miss-"

"Mrs. It's Mrs. I'm married," she said. Back in the Biblical Stand, Ambriel facepalmed. This was her sister in law?

"Ummm, okay. Mrs…" Serafall began.

"Amaranth," she said.

"Right, Mrs. Amaranth. We have received information from Cain and Avan that they would assist us in the war against Lilith. We only wish to know if you will participate as well," Serafall asked.

"I… don't know," she said, shocking everyone in the room except for the Archangels and the Elder Gods. They had known what she was and why she was conflicted.

"I'm a Knight of Hell or was one. The Knights of Hell served the armies of Hell and me and my siblings served as the retainers for the Crown Princess of Hell," she said. "My duties state that I should side with Princess Lilith but my morals tell me not to so…"

The room went silent at her words.

"It's alright. I'm currently facing the same dilemma," a new voice was heard throughout the room.

"Who dare-" Freyja was interrupted by another voice.

"You said you wanted to speak with us," another new voice was heard. This one was female.

Cain and Avan strode into the room with their heads held high. Cain wore a black combat uniform with a shoulder cape and hood. Next, to him, Avan wore a white battle dress with a silver breastplate. She wore black leggings and white boots and donned a snow-white cloak.

"Cain, Avan," Michael called from the Biblical Stands.

Cain bowed deeply in respect and greeting. "Uncle," he said. Avan quickly followed suit bowing her head in respect as well.

"Right, so if we could get on with this," Rudianos said.

"Of course," Avan replied, flashing him a quick smile.

"Okay, from what the Archangels told us and what is generally known, you are Cain. The firstborn son of Adam and Eve. Brother to Abel and Aclima," Hestia began to state.

"Yes," Cain replied.

"Lord Raphael has also stated that you are a demon and your wife is a human, is that correct?" Hestia continued.

"Yes, that is correct," the entire room erupted into an uproar when Cain confirmed the statement.

"What is a filthy demon doing here!?" Freyja screeched.

"SILENCE!" Hestia yelled as flames spread from her very being. "Ahem. Going back to what we were doing. As a Demon, you will be able to help us against her, is that true?"

"That depends," Cain said, confusing the Head Council.

"What do you mean by that?" Bathala asked him.

"Your actions speak louder than your words. You speak of wanting to beat back and defeat my cousin yet here you all are voting to take no action as a demon rampages across the Sahara," Cain told them.

"Your current actions just caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. Why should we help someone who speaks of having the world's safety in mind but is the first to flee in the face of adversity?" Avan continued.

"How dare you!?" a man with red hair screamed in rage from the Shinto Stand.

"Takemikazuchi, calm yourself," Amaterasu warned.

"No! How dare this human filth question us gods on our actions!?" he roared. "It is because of us that this world survived. It is because of us that the Beast was sealed!"

"I distinctly recall hearing that a no-name valkyrie who was brushed aside by her peers was the one who developed seals that were nearly on par with the Enochian Seals used to imprison the Beast of the Sea," Avan said, unfazed by the man's attempts to enrage her.

"It doesn't matter. Our point is that we will help you. But do not presume that you have any control over us," Cain said. "You haven't earned the ability to give us orders."

The Head Council all looked at one another and began to silently debate amongst each other. After several minutes of back and forth, the Head Council had Hestia speak.

"It is our honor to accept your assistance, Sir Cain, Lady Avan," Hestia said respectfully. The two nodded in acceptance.

"My wife and I shall move to Kuoh Town to watch over the Red Dragon Emperor and his friends. You may contact us there," Cain said.

"That is acceptable," Serafall told him.

The two began to walk out of the council room. As they neared the doors, Tsukuyomi remembered something she wanted to ask.

"You mentioned that you know that a demon is attacking the Sahara. Do you by chance know who it is?" she asked.

"I do," he said before leaving. Avan sent one last glance back at them and spotted Eden Squad standing at the side. She waved at them before following Cain out the door.

Vigne walked up to them and smiled. "You guys want to go get dinner? I'll cook," she offered.

The two groups nodded and followed her out the door. The deities soon took the hint that the meeting was over and began to teleport out of the room. Serafall collapsed in her chair, stressed and tired by today's meeting. She felt an intense headache as she thought of the region in the Sahara the council voted to sacrifice. She used the word sacrifice as Cain had confirmed that a demon was at work destroying the entire area. The Maou Leviathan closed her eyes to get a few seconds of rest when she heard footsteps approaching the table of the Head Council.

Serafall opened her eyes and saw her rival, Gabriel. The Archangel offered her a smile and sat down in the empty seat next to her. "Dealing with all these gods are tiring is it not?" Gabriel said.

"Yeah, I don't know how you did it?" Serafall complained.

"Pardon?" Gabriel was confused at her words.

"You've been doing this longer than I have. Eons in fact and yet, you still manage to maintain this upbeat, trickster personality. Meanwhile, I'm over here just struggling to maintain my mask for my people," Serafall said.

"Who said that I wasn't struggling?"

Serafall turned to her rival, eyes full of curiosity.

"You want to know what one of the worst things I had to see in my long, long life," Gabriel said, staring at the ceiling.

Serafall nodded.

"In some versions of the myth, it is said that Samael was cast into Cocytus for tempting Eve to eat the Sefirot Fruit of the Divine Sefirot," Gabriel said. "In truth, it was my sister. Your kind's creator. Samael did something much worse. Aclima was the First Prophet to ever exist. On top of having power from my Father, she had the power she inherited from Adam and Eve. How she died is for another time but there was this one day, that Father and I witnessed something horrific. Samael had come down to the Earth and attempted to rape Aclima. Father sent me there immediately.

"I wanted to think that what we saw was just a lie. That it wasn't true but upon arriving, I couldn't believe it. Aclima was there beaten and her clothes had been torn off and Samael was preparing to take her chastity and I snapped. I attacked Samael and beat him to near death. Before I took him to Father for his judgment, I tore off four of his wings. After that, I took him to Father who told me to cast him to Cocytus and to curse him which I did. That poison you all fear was a curse Father told me to put on Samael as punishment. Father then transformed his lower body into that of a dragon causing the poison to give him intense pain torturing him for all eternity," Gabriel finished.

"I… wow, I didn't know," Serafall said.

Gabriel just nodded in acknowledgment and the two spent the rest of their time in comfortable silence.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 9:15 PM**

* * *

Issei sat on the couch mentally debating on whether or not he should pick up and open the light novel that Vigne had given him. Speaking of which, Vigne, Irina, Kuroka, Le Fay, and Avan were all in the kitchen cooking meal fit for a village. The aroma of the food had begun to make his mouth water. What delicious meal were they going to come up with now?

He began to feel hunger crawl its way into his stomach. Wanting to take his mind off his growing need for food, Issei decided to just read it. What harm could there be?

Issei took the book out of his bag and opened it.

"_High School DxD: Vol 1. The Red Dragon Emperor's Awakening?_" he read in confusion. Wait, he was the Red Dragon Emperor? Was this a book about him Vigne had found in the Underworld?

"Hey Hyoudou," Issei turned to see Vali and Mitsuki standing behind the couch.

"Is that the book Vigne-san gave you Aniki?" Mitsuki asked him.

"Yeah, I'm just about to read it," Issei said. Mitsuki looked at the book's cover.

"_High School DxD: Vol 1, The Red Dragon-_ Is this a biography about you?" she asked.

"I don't know," Issei began to read. As he read, his confusion continued to grow as well as his surprise. Everything that happened to him was recorded in this book. Everything. Even his peeping spots! What the hell? He flipped from page to page. It was all here. Raynare. Asia. His reincarnation. All written in perfect detail down to the T.

"Umm, what the fuck?" Issei said as he held the book in front of him.

"What is it?" Mitsuki asked.

"Read it," Issei said, handing the book to Mitsuki and Vali.

Like Issei, the two became confused and shocked. How the hell did they know all of this? Mitsuki was very creeped out at the fact that everything she said and did was practically on display for the entire world to read.

"Where did Vigne-san get this?" Mitsuki asked. Vali read the name of the author on the spine of the book.

"It says here that it was written by a man named Ichiei Ishibumi," he read.

"Should we look into this later?" Issei asked.

The two nodded and heard Irina call everyone for dinner. Deciding that this was a good time to get answers, Issei, Vali, and Mitsuki rushed to the dinner table.

Today's menu was sauteed fish and tonkatsu with a helping of soba and miso soup. As everyone began to eat, Issei spoke up.

"Um, Vigne-san, where did you get the book?" Issei asked.

Vigne looked at him confused until she realized what he meant.

"Oh, the light novel? I got at Barnes and Noble in the discount aisle," she remarked offhandedly. "Why? Did you read it?"

"Yeah, are you sure you didn't pull it out of some Barnes and Nobles in the Underworld?" Mitsuki asked her.

"Nope picked it up here in Kuoh on my way to the academy," she said as she took another bite of her tonkatsu.

"That sounds highly unlikely. The book details our lives," Issei said.

"I know. It's why I gave it to you," she said. "You know have a fanbase right? Here let me show you," Vigne pulled out her iPhone Xr and went to a website. She clicked on something and handed her phone to Issei.

Issei's face slowly went green at the sight of the words displayed across the screen. Vali and Mitsuki looked over his shoulder and Mitsuki blanched as she saw them.

"What the hell is slash?" Vali asked as he read one in particular.

"Um, slash is a romantic or sexual relationship between two people of the same sex, primarily men," Le Fay explained to him. Vali, upon hearing those words, immediately ran to the sink and began to throw up. Everyone, except for Issei and Mitsuki, sent him looks of concern.

"You okay Vali?" Bikou asked.

Vali looked up and wiped some vomit that was left on the side of his mouth.

"What the fuck!? Who writes that shit!? I would never have sex with Issei! Even if I was a girl!" Vali yelled.

"Hey man! Feelings mutual! Also, who the hell is writing all these incest fics between me and my sister!" Issei said as he scrolled through the page.

"Oh, oh my, Sekiryuutei and His Little Sister," Mitsuki looked like she was on the verge of fainting.

"Apparently, twincest is wincest to them," Vigne said, taking a sip of her juice.

"What are you guys looking at?" Irina asked. She walked over and swiped the phone from Issei's hands. As she scrolled, she noticed something that ticked her off.

"WHAT THE HELL!? Issei and Kuroka! Issei and Rias! Issei and Akeno! Issei and Rossweisse! Where are all of the Issei and me fics!?" she yelled as she began to squeeze the phone in an attempt to crush it.

"Woah," Vigne held her hand out causing her phone to fly back into her hand. "Okay, calm down. There's a logical explanation for this," she said as she pocketed her phone.

"What logical explanation could there be?" Mitsuki asked.

"Umm, we don't have one yet," Risa told them.

"However, it doesn't mean we won't find one," Cain said, drinking his water.

"Um, guys, you still haven't told us what's happening," Kiba spoke up.

"Right, so there's this guy…" the next forty-five minutes were spent explaining that some man had written a book about their adventures as devils and that possibly the entire planet knew about them but brushed it off as fiction by some bizarre chance. It was then that Vigne spoke up that the books did not sell but were popular among a group of people who referred to themselves as… people of culture.

"Right, so tomorrow, we look for whoever wrote this book and confront him," Issei said.

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm all for it."

"Sure."

These were all the responses he received before the group resumed their nice dinner together.

* * *

**Libya, 10:45 PM**

* * *

Ammon crashed into the sand battered. He was bleeding from practically everywhere on his body. His left eye was swollen shut and he had a busted lip. His right arm was shattered and he had a large wound on the side of his torso.

The blue-haired woman slowly walked towards him, her boots crunching in the sand. Behind her, the broken corpses of mermen lay scattered all over the desert, the sand stained crimson by their blood. Some were impaled on the various ice spikes that now dotted the landscape.

"I will ask one last time; tell me where the doors to Tartarus are," she said.

"Fuck you," he growled out, spitting on her boots.

The woman narrowed her eyes and drew her sword. As she prepared to drive it through his face, she was knocked away by a powerful blow from Poseidon. The woman flew and righted herself in midair, landing safely on the ground several hundred feet away.

"Can you get up?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ammon said.

"Father," Triton landed next to the two gods. Of the three, Triton had suffered the least damage as he played the role of long-range support. Poseidon was nearly as wounded as he was. He had a massive gash running down his back and his armor was broken. Poseidon had a massive bruise on one side of his lower chest and upper torso suggesting that his ribs had been broken.

The woman was growing tired of this fight. Firstly, it bored her to death. She knew demon children who could put up a better fight. Deciding that she would end this, the woman raised her hand and began to gather blue energy.

Ammon saw the buildup through his one good eye and readied himself. Knowing that her next attack would wipe all three of them out, he turned to Poseidon.

"Go! Get out of here," he said.

Poseidon's green eyes grew wide at his words.

"What! No! Ammon!" he said.

"No, I need you and Triton to go inform the Council of what happened here. Her next attack will wipe us all out but if you two go. I can give you time to escape to the sea to heal," he said.

"No, Ammon, this isn-"

"Triton now isn't the time to argue," Ammon said.

"Dad..." Triton looked to Poseidon, who looked at Ammon.

The Egyptian Deity gave the two a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine," he said, trying to get them to leave.

"We'll leave this to you," Poseidon said. "Triton, let's go!" Poseidon summoned a chariot. He was too drained and injured to teleport.

"But Da-"

"TRITON! Just go!" Ammon yelled, urging Triton to run. Triton nodded and hopped on the chariot.

"Hyah!" the horses neighed and took off leaving Ammon behind.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, clearly not expecting this to happen.

_I can't let those two escape,_ she thought. The woman aimed at the two escaping gods when a torrent of fire flew in her direction. She was forced to erect an ice wall to block oncoming flames creating a mist.

The woman growled in anger. She turned her gaze to Ammon, who sent her a bloody, triumphant grin.

"Heh," he said.

She snapped and appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. She delivered a devastating upward kick sending Ammon into the air.

She vanished and reappeared above him. The woman drove her heel into Ammon's gut, causing blood to spurt from his mouth and sending him back to the sand. The entire area shook as Ammon crashed into the ground, creating a large crater as large as Kuoh Academy.

Ammon coughed as he lay broken in the middle of the crater. He looked up and screamed in pain as the woman landed hard on his stomach. She got off and Ammon put a hand on the middle of his torso, trying to soothe the pain.

The woman kicked his hand off and planted her boot on the man's torso and began to apply pressure.

"Since the other two escaped, I guess I can only get it out of you now. Tell me where the Doors to Tartarus are," she said.

"Never," he managed to squeeze out.

The woman's eyes narrowed and she applied more pressure on the man. The sick sound of cracking could be heard as the woman slowly broke his ribs. Ammon screamed in pain as he felt his ribs starting to give way.

"Tell me, where the doors are," the woman asked once more.

"Go to Hell," he croaked weakly.

The woman drew her sword and ran it across the god's chest. Ammon screamed in agony as he felt his soul being cut into. The woman repeated this process this time becoming more creative. She began to carve letters and various symbols using the deity's body as her bloody sketchpad.

"GRAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH! OKAY OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU! JUST PLEASE STOP!" he wailed in agony as the woman ran twisted her blade deeper into his other wounds.

"Okay, then tell me where the Doors to Tartarus are?" she said, grabbing his head and holding him to eye level.

"I- it's in Epirus in Greece," he rasped out, his voice hoarse from all the screaming.

"Thank you," she said. The woman dropped Ammon's body on the sand.

Ammon began to laugh, causing her to stop.

"What's so funny?" she asked, turning her icy gaze towards the broken god.

"Heh, by the time, you get there. The others will know about this and have an army waiting. I will be avenged when they put you down like the rabid bitch you are," he said, laughing.

The woman narrowed her eyes in anger. She waved her hands causing several ice spikes to erupt from the ground impaling the god and killing him.

The woman walked over to the corpse, whose blood was now turning the sand red, and gathered some blood in a chalice she pulled out a pocket dimension.

She whispered a spell and the blood bubbled.

"Milady, I have acquired the location of the doors, but two gods escaped. Do we proceed?" she reported.

"Yes. We shall proceed with the plan," Lilith's voice could be heard from the blood.

"As you wish, My Princess," the woman replied.

"Once you finish up your tasks, meet me there, Astaroth," and with that Lilith severed the connection.

Astaroth poured out the blood and dusted off her clothes. She took one last look at the carnage before vanishing, becoming a winding plume of smoke that flew across the night sky.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**yogap34712 says: What was that language when they tried make weapon?**

**It looks like it's ancient**

**It's Enochian. Here is a loose translation. **

**Oh Lord, let this spirit rise from this vessel. Grant it the power to protect. The power to destroy all those who oppose them. I release thy soul and by the Lord's will, may your spirit guide you in all your endeavors.**

**Yeah, it's loosely based on the Aura Unlock Chant Pyrrha used in the RWBY series.**

**ilhamcrazy123 says: Wait so Hephaestus knew how to make enochian weapons after all? I thought knowledge on making them were forgotten. Despite Hephaestus loving someone else it was kind of a bitch move for aphrodite to screw ares so casually like that around him though. So far season 2 is going in a good pace but i still am excited for the complete resolution of issei's former girlfriends and advancement with his new harem, particularly kuroka and irina.**

**Well, technically it was said that there were none on Earth and the city of the Gods on is technically a pocket dimension that exists in a parallel realm which the entrance to it is through the Empire State Building. Riordan based Olympus! Woohoo! Hephaestus has an Enochian Weapon which won't be revealed til the very end of the season.**

**AnimeFan0216 says: ****At last its season 2, this is really a nice chapter I can't wait for the next one. What would Issei feel if he was called uncle by a bishojo that is about his age? Well technically, Issei and Lilith would pass as siblings because of the blood so technically this made Ellie his mother too.**

**Haha, I like that, though Harmonia is several hundred years older than he is. I would imagine that he feels highly uncomfortable. I'm surprised you caught that. Did you catch it from one of Lilith's lines back in Season 1? I ripped it off from Clash of the Titans when Hades appeared in the throne room of Argos and he was going off on the humans.**

* * *

**I hope you liked the chapter. I think the part I liked writing the most was the part where Issei, Mitsuki, and Vali read High School DxD. Also, what the hell do the demons want with Tartarus? Will Issei and his friends ever find out who wrote the Light Novel? Will I ever stop asking these questions? Anyway, you might have saw that I mentioned another fanfic in this chapter. So, last night, I was just browsing through the DxD fanfic and saw the fanfic, Sekiryuutei and His Little Sister by Fahrmann. I swear this is just a coincidence but both our characters are named Mitsuki and even have the same nickname: Mii-chan except his is spelled Micchan. Sooo, yeaaahhhhhhh, this outro is starting to sound like the outros from Jaiden Animations (love her videos). Yeah, so remember if you like, review/fav/follow. And... yeah see ya guys!**


	29. A Story to Call Our Own

**Pyre: New chapter guys! I just want to thank everyone whose been here so far. I honestly thought I would just have to cater to 5 people or something. No less than that. So, this chapter will address what two people in the reviews asked. Or one person, who did so politely. So let's get started!**

**Rossweisse: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichie Ishibumi! Please support the official release!**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, March 21, 2020, 12:00 PM, Current Time: 2 minutes and 47 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

"Okay…," Mitsuki said as she leaned back on her computer chair. Her twin and her friends all stood behind her looking at her triple screen set up. It had been four days since they began and still no clue on who Ichiei Ishibumi was.

"It doesn't make sense. A person with a fanbase this large shouldn't be this hard to find," Rossweisse said as she stared at one of the monitors.

"I know. We looked everywhere. Wikipedia. The High School DxD Wiki. The Public Security Intelligence Agency. It's like he's a ghost or something," Irina said as she read the page over and over.

"How about we go down to the bookstore and buy more of the books? Or ask someone?" Kuroka suggested.

"Okay, let's split up then. Some of us will head down to Barnes and Noble and buy the entire series. The rest of us will head to the public library to find more information about this Ichiei Ishibumi," Issei said, getting out of his computer chair.

"Sounds like a plan," Kiba said.

* * *

**Barnes and Noble, 1:30 PM**

* * *

Irina, Kuroka, and Le Fay all walked into Barnes and Noble. The place was relatively empty. There were people there but not as many as there would be if it was the beginning of the school year. Irina spotted an employee and walked up to them.

"Excuse me. Do you know where the Light Novel aisle is good sir?" Irina asked him.

"Yeah, it's down over there and to the left," he pointed to a section with the sign Light Novel and Manga.

Irina, Kuroka, and Le Fay walked down over to the Light Novel aisle and saw an entire shelf filled with High School DxD novels. Kuroka began to sift through all of them.

"Hey, look! I'm on one of the covers!" Kuroka grabbed a book and pointed at a lewd image of her on the book cover. Irina and Le Fay looked at her and to the novel.

"That's… nice," Irina said, smiling and her eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

"Oh, look so am I!" she said, her face morphing into one of pure joy as she grabbed one of the novels of the shelf.

"Which one do we get again?" Le Fay asked Irina.

"Umm, all of them?" Irina didn't really know whether Issei was serious about buying them all or if he was kidding.

Kuroka and Le Fay looked at her dryly before scooping up all the books into their arms. Irina sighed and grabbed the rest of the books. The three girls walked up to the counter. The cashier saw them carrying a large pile of books and raised her eyebrow.

"Umm, are you three buying all of that?" the cashier asked them.

The three nodded. The cashier gave the three a weird look but started to scan the books.

"Sooo, is this a gift for someone?" she asked.

"No, this is for research!~" Irina said, smiling brightly. Kuroka and Le Fay facepalmed while the cashier looked at her, completely baffled by her response.

"R-research?" she asked.

"Yup!~" Irina beamed.

The cashier's face slowly contorted from slight disbelief into utter disbelief. Deciding to leave the woman and her questionable interests alone, the cashier finished scanning all the books and pushed the stack of light novels back to Irina. "W-would you like a bag with that?"

"Thank you!"

The cashier handed them all bags and the girls stuffed the light novels into the bags and promptly left the store.

* * *

**Kuoh Public Library, same time**

* * *

Issei, Vali, Rossweisse, Kiba, Gasper, and Arthur all walked into the library. "Okay, so while Irina takes Kuroka and Le Fay to go buy novels and my sister and Bikou continue to scour the depths of the internet, we'll look around for an Ichiei Ishibumi," he said.

"Right, let's split up," Vali said and the six all split up to different parts of the library. Issei went up to the ancestral records of Kuoh and began to look for an Ichiei Ishibumi. He poured over all the pages for people with the last name of I.

"Iama, Ichi, Ichiro, Isane, Izumi, Ichigo, Inori...," Issei read out all of the last names of everyone in Kuoh. Seeing that this Ichiei didn't live in Kuoh, Issei decided to access a terminal and go onto the public records of everyone whose last name started with the letter "I" in Japan.

"Iaido, Ichibi, Ichiro, Ichiko,... Isara, Ishimai, Ishibu- Ishibumi!" Issei immediately clicked on the last name and began to slowly scroll down until he saw the Ichi.

Issei paled when he saw the massive list of names.

"Why the hell are there so many Ichiei Ishibumis!? Gah! This is hopeless," he said as he closed the browser.

Hearing familiar footsteps behind him, Issei turned around and saw Rossweisse running over to him with a smile on her face. "Issei! I found something!" she said, waving a piece of paper in the air.

"No running in the library!" the librarian called out. It was immediately followed by a slew of furious shushing.

"SHHHHHH!" the librarian looked down in embarrassment, then fixed Rossweisse an intense glare.

"Right, Issei. Get everyone! We need to head back to the house. I found a way we can find the author," Rossweisse said to him.

"Really," Issei said, immediately standing up and knocking the chair over.

"SHHH!" Issei apologized silently to everyone, then turned his gaze back to Rossweisse.

"What do we have to do?"

"We have to look for the publishing company. We should be written at the front of the book," Rossweisse informed him.

Issei's mind shattered at her words. It had been so simple. Now, they were here and wasted three hours and his other two girlfriends had most likely spent hundreds of yen for a stack of books they no longer needed. Oh well, it would be good kindling.

"L-let's go home," Issei said with a defeated, mind-broken expression on his face.

"Y-Yeah…" Rossweisse said, noticing her boyfriend's expression.

"You know I love you right?" Issei said tonelessly.

"Uhuh," Rossweisse said as she helped him out the door.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 4:56 PM**

* * *

Issei walked in robotically, followed by Rossweisse and the others who shot him worried glances. He looked extremely tired and completely out of it.

"Hyoudou, there was no way we could have thought to look for the company," Vali tried to comfort his rival.

"Yeah, you're right," he said, finally perking up. The entire walk back had been Issei wallowing in self-pity for being an idiot.

"Honestly, you shouldn't be depressed over something like this," he said.

"Issei," he saw Irina and Kuroka looking up at him with a massive pile of books.

"We got the books, nya," Kuroka told him as she read through the pages. "Whoever wrote this seemed to have a very intimate knowledge of your personal life. In fact, they seem to know a lot about our personal lives," she remarked as she flipped the pages of one of the books.

"So, how do we find the author?" Mitsuki's voice could be heard as she walked down the stairs with her laptop in hand. Bikou was behind her, holding a tablet mindlessly scrolling through page upon page.

"Easy! We see who published the Light Novel and contact them!" Rossweisse said.

"That's all we had to do!" Irina jumped up staring at them. "Ugh, I don't even want to think about what I just did today. That cashier was probably looking at me like 'She's another one of those degenerates!' Let's see who published this sucker."

Irina opened one of the novels and immediately found the publisher. "Huh, the company who published this Kadokawa or at least one of their branches."

"What's the branch name, Irina-senpai?" Gasper asked her.

"Fujimi Shobo, Fantasia Bunko Branch," she said.

"On it," Mitsuki immediately opened her laptop and typed in the publishing company's name.

"Hmm, it seems that I can get us a meeting with the publisher of _High School DxD_. How's tomorrow? Wow, that was fast," she said.

"Why? How long does it usually take?" Arthur asked.

"I don't really know. A few weeks most likely," Mitsuki said, shrugging.

"Well, we'll take what we can get," Issei said.

"Okay, I've scheduled an appointment with a representative of the publishing company. They said they'd meet us in Akiba," Mitsuki said.

"Tomorrow right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, who's going to go?" Issei said. No one raised their hand.

"Really guys?"

"I'll go," his sister said, raising her hand high into the air.

"If she goes, I'll go," Vali said, lazily raising his hand.

"Okay then. You guys stay here just in case Az-nee needs anything. We'll head out in- what time is the appointment and what did you tell them?" Issei asked Mitsuki.

"Umm, it's at noon and I said that we had a draft for a light novel we wanted to publish. I'm calling it _Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?_" Mitsuki said, waving her hands in a jazz fashion. Sparkles appeared around Mitsuki as she waved her hands.

"I'm starting to think that you're as much of a pervert here as your brother?" Bikou commented.

Mitsuki just shrugged. "We are twins," she casually replied.

* * *

**Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, March 22, 2020, 12:00 PM**

* * *

"Sooo, when is the representative getting here?" Vali said, drinking his soda can. They were inside a maid cafe in Akihabara in Tokyo. The trio had ordered a table for four and had told the waitresses that they were waiting for their guest and that they would order once the guest had arrived.

"Dunno," Mitsuki said as she leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder.

Issei looked at the couple with a tense gaze. He still wasn't used to the idea of his precious baby sister dating someone.

_Note to self. Buy a shotgun when Lily becomes old enough to date_, Issei thought, mentally preparing himself for the future.

"Oh, you guys are here!" A beautiful and well-endowed woman with fair skin and a curvaceous figure walked into the cafe. She had brown eyes and straight brown hair reaching down to the front of her shoulders and further behind her back, slightly curling at the tips. Her fringe covered her right eye and a single ahoge arced off the top of her head.

The woman wore a purple dress, with a dark purple long coat over it. She took a seat next to Issei and introduced herself.

"Hello there! You must be Mitsuki, Issei, and Vali. My name's Mikasa Kurokami. I'm a publisher over at Fantasia Bunko. You said that you three had a novel draft you want to get published?" she asked.

"Yeah, that and one more thing," Issei said.

"Oh, what is it?"

"We've read the Light Novel, _High School DxD_, and want to see if we could collab with its author once we get our story published," Mitsuki told her.

"Oh, you mean Ishibumi-san? You're in luck. I happen to be the publisher for their books. But first, let's talk about that novel. What's the premise?" Mikasa asked them.

Mitsuki blinked. She never expected that she had to explain the premise of a title that took her three seconds to pull out from her brain.

She turned to Vali and Issei for help only to receive shrugs and gestures for her to come up with something. Mitsuki internally sighed. This was to get the person's address and contact info.

"R-right… so there's this mother-son duo. The mother is overbearing and doting which annoys her son. At some point, they get sucked into a fantasy RPG-"

"Like in _Sword Art Online?_" Mikasa asked.

"Yes, but actually, the son chose to go in of his free will while the mother followed him inside. Anyway, they meet up with three girls and go on quests inside the game. The whole purpose of the game is so that parents and their children will grow closer together as they adventure throughout the game," she said.

Mikasa's next words caused Mitsuki to choke on her drink. "How lewd will it be? Will it have the appropriate level of ecchi for the fans?"

"Y-yeah! I plan to have this one scene where the mom's clothes get eaten by slimes and she's naked in front of her son and much more. You don't get too many MILF isekais out there you know," Mitsuki told Mikasa. Internally, Mitsuki was screaming.

Over to the side, Vali was looking incredulously at his girlfriend while Issei looked on with pride at his twin's words.

"Wonderful! Do you have the draft?" Mikasa said. "I'd like to get it published as soon as possible."

"Umm, I don't have it with me right now as my boyfriend, brother, and I are still working out some kinks. Do you mind if we could get it to you sometime later?" Mitsuki said.

"That's quite alright. Here's my card. You can send the draft to me via mail," she said.

"Okay, so now, can we discuss Ishibumi-sensei?" Issei asked.

"Of course! What do you want to know about her?" Mikasa said.

The three froze.

"H-Her?" Vali asked tentatively.

"Oh, right, everyone assumes Ishibumi-sensei is a male. No, he is a she. And a foreigner. We never get too many foreigners turning in light novels to us," Mikasa said to them with a smile.

"Do you happen to know by chance where she lives and her contact info so we can get in touch with her?" Mitsuki asked.

"Her address? Well, that I don't know but what I do know is that she lives in Ayr, Scotland, UK. Her contact info is here," Mikasa handed them one of Ishibumi's business cards.

Issei took the card and his eyes widened when he saw who the name was.

"Aniki, are you alright?" Mitsuki asked upon seeing her brother's expression change into one of shock.

Issei handed her the card and she and Vali read over it. "What the…" Vali said in shock.

"Is everything alright?" Mikasa asked.

Mitsuki immediately schooled her features and turned to the woman. "Of course! We're fine. We just thought her name looked familiar," Mitsuki told her.

"Oh, it must be from the news. Poor girl. Her older brother went missing all those months ago. And then they found his body mutilated in a graveyard in America. Makes you wonder what happened to him," Mikasa asked.

The three nodded stiffly.

"Can me and my friends talk for a few seconds?" Issei asked. "In private."

"Of course, this is an important, life-changing choice after all," Mikasa said. "I need to go use the restroom anyway. How's about we order food once I get back?"

The three nodded and Mikasa got up and made her way to the restroom.

"What the fuck guys?" Issei said. "It's that fucker's younger sister! The one whose sick!"

"Yeah, I can't believe this. How are we supposed to do this!? We killed her brother for God's sake!?" Mitsuki said.

"Okay, calm down you two. I'm sure she's an okay person," Vali said.

"Yeah, I hope," Issei muttered as he saw Mikasa sit back down next to him.

"So, who's ready for lunch?"

* * *

**Ayr, Scotland, 4:00 AM**

* * *

A young girl about the age of 15 with long curly brown hair sat on a bed typing away at her laptop. Her violet eyes flashed gold for a split second as she scanned her screen for any spelling errors.

"I really need an editor," she said in a soft, Scottish accent.

"Nancy, you take your medicine yet," a woman's voice called from behind a door.

"Yeah, Mum! I took it!" Nancy hollered.

"Now, what should Issei, Mitsuki, and Vali do next?" Nancy sat on her bed, tapping on her laptop trying to think of something.

"Hmm, they get the book, meet with the publisher. Should I really insert myself into the story?" she asked herself while she read the draft from beginning to end once more.

Nancy froze as she began to hear whispers once more. Her eyes became golden as visions filled her head.

_The town in front of her was ablaze. Demonic beings filled the sky as gods, angels, devils, and men all fought together to beat back the forces of darkness. The battle was brutal, intense, and bloody._

_A woman with orange hair and twintails was covered in blue aura as her hair turned grey and her eyes golden. Her ten snow-white wings glowed before merging into a pair of massive black ones that gave off a metallic shine._

_Next to her, was a man with spiky brown hair who was covered in a red glow before becoming a massive demonic being with large curved horns and two pairs of dragon-like wings._

_In front of them was a woman with white hair. The woman was a demon. Her hair floated upwards and her bangs became longer. Her ears were elf-like and she possessed a long, stocky tail. On her forearms were fin-like protrusions and her hands were golden claws. On her back were a pair of large bat-like wings. Dark marks were all over the woman's body as her icy blue eyes stared at the two who opposed her._

_The woman held her hands out and a sword that was seemingly made from diamonds materialized in a flash of violet light._

"_It's over, Ototou-chan," the woman said blankly as she charged at the two. She raised her blade and brought it down with the intent of cu-_

A ringing sound brought her out of her visions as the golden hue faded revealing her violet eyes. She looked down at her laptop and saw a new email from her publisher.

_A meeting_? With who? She wondered as she stared at the email. Nancy opened up Skype and contacted Mikasa.

**Bold will be Nancy**

_Italics will be Mikasa_

"**Hey, who wants to meet with me?"**

"_A couple of new authors. They want to meet the one who wrote High School DxD."_

Nancy groaned. _Fucking fans,_ she thought as she rubbed her temples.

"**You know I don't meet with fans."**

"_I know but these aren't fans. They're authors. Perhaps you could show them the ropes?"_

"**Fine. Tell them I'll meet with them in a few days."**

"_Cool! I just gave them your information. They should be there in a few days._"

"**Is that all?"**

"_No. I was also going to ask when the next volume will be ready."_

"**A few days. So when they come over here."**

"_Wonderful! Listen, I have to go. I'll contact you later._"

"**See ya."**

Nancy leaned back on her bed and groaned. She looked out the window and sighed. Ever since her brother had died, her parents no longer seemed to care about anything. Nancy also felt incredibly guilty. She felt as if his death was her fault. She knew that wasn't true but the way he died. It was so similar to how she described. Both arms torn off, eyesockets burned out, and his organs melted.

Shaking her head of the thoughts, she began to type on her laptop once more and resumed her work.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 3:00 PM**

* * *

Issei, Vali, and Mitsuki all walked into the house, catching everyone's attention.

"So, did you get the info you needed?" Rossweisse said, leaning into the sofa.

"Yeah, and then some…," Vali said, sitting down on the floor in front of the couch.

Everyone who stayed behind looked at him in mild confusion. Irina, Kuroka, and Rossweisse all noticed that their boyfriend had a mild look of pride on his face while Mitsuki looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"What happened?" Arthur asked them.

"We're light novel authors now boys!" Issei said, pumping his fist.

"Eh?" was everyone's collective responses.

"Mii-chan is a genius. You should have seen her wow the publisher with her idea of a MI-MMMMMPPPHHHH!" Mitsuki slapped her hand over her twin's mouth while tackling him.

"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW!" she screamed, glaring into her brother's eyes.

"Know what?" Murayama walked out of the kitchen with a bottle of water.

Issei and Mitsuki turned their gaze over to Murayama.

"Oh, Murayama! Did you just get here?"

"No, I got here a few hours ago to practice my powers," she said, walking over to the couch. A red blur came out from behind her and jumped on Mitsuki's back.

"GAH! Lily! We're gonna fall!" the three fell on the ground with Lily sitting on Mitsuki's stomach.

"Big brother! Big sister! You're home! Did you get your story published?" she asked.

"Sadly," Vali said.

"Wait, it's that MILF isekai story she proposed as a smokescreen isn't it?" Bikou asked.

Mitsuki puffed her red cheeks in embarrassment and glared hotly at Bikou. The glare wasn't as effective as she hoped as the youkai started to laugh.

"HAHAHA! You-you three have to write that now! AHAHAHA!" he rolled on the ground clutching his sides. Everyone else gave her looks of pity.

"It's alright Mitsuki. Look on the bright side, think of all the money you could make from this," Irina told her.

"But… people will see me and know that I wrote that!" she wailed.

"Not really. Just come up with a pen name or a pseudonym," Kiba offered.

At the mention of a pseudonym, Issei perked up, remembering why they went there in the first place.

"Oh right! I figured out who Ichiei Ishibumi is!" he said.

"Who is he?" Rossweisse asked.

"Not he," Mitsuki added.

"It's a she," Vali finished for the two. "The author is a girl named Nancy McCarthy."

"McCarthy? Like that bastard who killed Mitsuki-senpai, forcing Senpai to sell his soul?" Gasper asked.

"Probably. Anyway, she lives in Ayr, Scotland in the UK," Vali said.

"So how are getting there?" Ingvild asked them.

"Ddraig and Tiamat know the area well so we'll be teleporting there. Can't take the car everywhere you know," Issei said.

"When are we going?" Irina asked.

"Tomorrow. Preferably before Monday," Issei said, raising his hand causing a can of Coke to fly into it. Lily hopped up and sat on his lap.

Everyone nodded and returned to watching whatever it was they were watching. Everything was peaceful until Lily said three words that would spell the end of Bikou's short life.

"What's a MILF?"

* * *

**Ayr, Scotland, March 23, 2020, 11:56 AM**

* * *

Eden Squad arrived in an alleyway in the city of Ayr, Scotland in a flash of red light. Ayr was a fairly large town in Scotland. It was situated by the seaside on the southwest coast of Scotland. The town, despite its large size, had a homey feeling to it. People moved and shuffled their way through the streets, genuinely having a good time. The air smelled like salt due to the sea breeze that constantly came in.

Issei and the others walked out of the alleyway and shivered slightly due to the crisp Scotland breeze. Over in the distance, they spotted the spire of a church.

"So, what do we do? She never gave us an address and we can't ask everyone in town. It's big enough to the point where not everyone knows everyone like in most small towns," Mitsuki said.

"We could go to their town hall and ask for the address," Kiba told them.

"That sounds like a plan," Ingvild said. The group of seven friends began to walk down the streets of Ayr. Along the way, they decided to partake the local cuisine.

"Mmmhh, this shortbread is amazing!~" Issei said as he inhaled the meal into his mouth.

"I know right!" Irina said, eating her plate.

After walking for several minutes, Eden Squad finally arrived at the town hall and walked inside. The County Building in Ayr was a large grey building. Its architecture was influenced by the Greco-Roman style as it modeled itself after the Corinthian Order of architecture with the pillars being ornately designed. The group of seven walked up to a set of stairs to large french doors.

The inside of the building had white walls with decorated mosaic floors. There was a large glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a large set of stairs at the end of the hallway. Issei walked up to the info desk and asked a woman with brown hair and green eyes.

"Hey, do you know where the residence records are? I'm looking for my cousins, the McCarthy's," Issei said.

"Oh, they're right down that hallway and it's the fifth door on your right dear," the woman said, pointing to a corridor on Issei's right.

"Thanks miss," Issei said, walking back to his friends. He led them down a hallway and eventually happened upon the records room. Issei opened the door and walked inside, followed by his friends.

"Okay, let's spli-"

"Found it!" Gasper said, walking back with a file.

"How did you?" Issei asked.

"Find it so fast? I summoned several bats to go to the M section. It's faster that way," Gasper said.

Issei nodded mutely at his words. He took the file and opened it. His blood boiled upon seeing Lance's face in the file again. He started to shake until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Irina looking at him with worry. Issei immediately calmed himself down and began to look for the address. Finding the address after a few seconds, Issei closed the folder.

"Found it. Let's go, guys," Issei said.

* * *

**Nancy's House, 2:30 PM**

* * *

Nancy typed furiously the details of the next volume on her laptop. She was giggling maniacally as she typed every letter and every word in the details. She had gone forward with her idea of a self-insert after having a dream the previous night.

"After an hour of walking, Eden Squad stood, taking in the imposing sight of the McCarthy Residence. Issei felt a cold sweat run down his forehead as he looked at the house that could possibly contain all of the answers and a way out of his hellish dilemma. Hellish dilemma, that's good. Issei and the others walked up to the walkway, to the front door, and then, with a quaking finger, rang the doorbell," just then she heard the sound of her doorbell going off.

Nancy groaned in frustration. Her parents were supposed to be gone and not return until 11:30 PM so it must be her neighbors. She hopped out of her bed and ran downstairs to open the door.

"I'm comin! Don't get yer panties in a twist!" she said, running to the door.

Nancy opened the door to reveal seven people standing there. All of whom were familiar to her. But that couldn't be. It just couldn't be.

"Hey, are you Nancy McCarthy?" the boy asked.

Nancy suddenly realized who they were.

"Umm, I don't autographs at my house. Wait till the next Anicon or something," she said, closing the door. The boy stuck his foot out stopping her from closing it fully. Now, she felt scared. What if it was some psycho fan that wanted to take her away and make her write just for them like in that one movie, _The Misery_?

"Wait, we need to talk to you," the girl said. "It's urgent."

Nancy felt another thought come into her mind. "Wait, are you the people who Mikasa said would be meeting with me? She said you'd be here in a few days," she said.

"We caught an early flight," the man said.

Nancy sighed. Newbies.

"Alright, come in," she said, reopening the door. "But if ye try anythin funny, I'll scream."

"Okay," he said as he walked in followed by his companions. Nancy led them to the living room and had them sit down on the couch. She sat down on her recliner diagonal from where they were sitting.

"Alright, tell your names," she said, folding her hands on her lap.

"Oh. I'm Issei Hyoudou," the spiky-haired male introduced himself.

"I'm Irina Shidou," the twin-tailed one said.

"I'm Mitsuki Hyoudou," the female who looked like the spiky-haired male said.

"Rossweisse," the silver-haired one said.

"Greetings, I'm Yuuto Kiba," the blonde male said.

"I'm Ingvild. Ingvild Leviathan," the violet one told her, bowing her head slightly.

"And I'm Gasper. Gasper Vladi," the effeminate boy said to her.

A million thoughts ran through Nancy's mind at the moment.

_Do these people think I'm stupid? They're either trolls or cosplayers,_ she thought.

"Yeah, tell me your real names. Not the names you roleplay in your weird orgies or something. Whatever you weebs do in your spare time," she said.

"Those are our real names," "Irina" said to her.

"No, those are the names of fictional characters in a fictional story so stop trolling me," she insisted.

"Yeah, this going nowhere," Issei stood up and summoned his wings.

Nancy watched in slight horror, fear, and awe as she watched wings made of pitch-black energy with a reddish glow materialize on Issei's back. She scooted back into her chair as far she could. Nancy began to hyperventilate when she saw everyone else summon their own set of wings.

_This is not real! This is not real! This is not real!_ she thought desperately as she stared down the beings in front of her.

"You believe us now," Issei said.

"B-but how? You guys are just parts of my imagination! It has to be my schizophrenia. I never took my medicine! I-"

"Nancy!"

Nancy snapped her eyes back to Issei.

"We're real. Here," Issei extended his arm and allowed her to touch it.

"Y-you are real," she gasped as she grabbed his hand. "Oh God! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to kill off your sister! It was a heat of the moment thing! And that whole deal with you selling your soul-"

"Calm down," Irina said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "First off, we're sorry about your brother, second, it's not schizophrenia. You're probably just psychic or something."

"W-wait, what was that about Lan-" her mind flew back to her brother's body. Anger rose inside of her but quickly died down when she remembered how her brother had changed. If this was real, then that means that her brother's actions were real. He did kill people and even threatened to rape someone.

"I-It's fine. I'm coping," Nancy said, calming herself. "I don't blame you."

"Right…" Kiba said.

An awkward silence descended upon the room.

"So are you psychic?" Ingvild asked, breaking the tension.

"Psychic? No, I get visions and hear whispers. Sometimes, they make me speak in other languages or at other times, I lose control and try to leave. Doctors think it's schizophrenia and multiple personalities," Nancy said.

"Well, I can assure you that it's none of that," a new voice came out from behind Nancy. Nancy shrieked and ran over and hid behind Ingvild.

"Hey, guys," a woman with raccoon ears and a bushy tail waved at the people she was currently using as meat shields.

"Why the hell do people keep showing up at my h- Oh, wait, you're my doctor," she said, walking out from behind Ingvild. Nancy looked over to the woman. "Aren't you Risa? Why are you cosplaying?"

"Um, I'm not cosplaying Nancy. This is what I actua- HYAAAA!?" Nancy appeared behind her and began to stroke her tail.

"So soofft~," Nancy said as she rubbed her face against Risa's tail. Risa yanked her tail away and glared slightly at the teen, causing her to pout.

"Raphael-sama," Irina bowed before him.

"Hello, my student," Raphael said.

"What are you doing here, Raphael-sama?" Kiba asked.

"Well, I sensed Nancy's distress and decided to come and see what was happening," he said.

"That's a bit creepy," Nancy replied, looking blankly at him. "So what are you? A devil or something?"

Raphael looked at her and spread out his eight pairs of wings. "No, I'm an Angel," he said. "Like Irina and Risa."

Turning back to Eden Squad, he began to speak. "I know you're here because of the book. We guessed that you would find it eventually and try to find out how this girl knew all about your lives. It's simple really. This girl here is a Prophet," he gestured dramatically to Nancy.

Nancy looked confused. "Like Moses?"

Raphael nodded. "You are a Prophet of the Lord. It's why you can see and know things that most people and other beings are incapable of knowing like seeing clearly into Issei's life. It's sad. In this day and age, people with real visions like yourself are written off and diagnosed with a mental illness."

"So, she has visions of our lives which she published as a story," Rossweisse said.

"Hey, I didn't know you people were real until you walked right into my house. I thought it was just a fever dream when I first had that vision," Nancy replied.

"Is this why Lance wanted to go to Beelzebub? To heal you of your supposed schizophrenia? He said that you're dying," Issei said.

"I am. I have hemophilia on top of my supposed bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," she said, lifting the hem of her shirt slightly to reveal a large bruise forming on her side.

Eden Squad winced at the sight.

"Raphael-sama, can't you heal her?" Irina asked.

Raphael nodded. "Nancy, stay still," he said as he placed two fingers on her forehead. She glowed slightly for a second and her bruise faded instantly. All the pain in her joints went away and she felt better.

"I- I don't feel anything! You cured me," she said, looking at him.

"Normally, we wouldn't do this as it would mean that we favor one human above all others but we'll make an exception just this once," Raphael told them.

"So me being a Prophet. What does that entail exactly?" Nancy asked.

"You have visions and can speak to our Father but that last part is impossible as He died long ago," he said.

Nancy froze. "G-God is dead? How? I thought he was omnipotent and immortal in every way!" she said.

"No one knows. You see long before you were born, the world was thrown into a war in which the devils, angels, and fallen angels fought each other. At the end of the war, a Beast we call Trihexa descended upon the Earth. Father decided to engage the Beast and prevented us from assisting. After the battle, we went to the site of their fight and saw that He had disappeared. We looked but gave up after several years and truly believed Him to be dead," Raphael told her.

"But if God was dead, then people like me shouldn't exist right?" she said. Eden Squad, upon hearing her words, also began to think.

"Your existence is a strange one. You're the first Prophet we've had since the Great War. Perhaps it's a glitch in the system. Whatever the case may be, I feel like you will be a turning point in this new war. I fear that you will never be able to live a normal life ever again. Once word gets out, and it will somehow, I fear that Lilith will stop at nothing to either have you on her side or eliminate you," Raphael said.

"O-Onee-chan would never resort to mindless slaughter. It's not her style!" Issei tried to defend her.

Raphael looked at him and handed him a paper. Issei took it and his eyes widened upon reading the title.

_Northern Sahara frozen in ice. Millions found frozen to death! Scientists are baffled!_

"What the…?" Irina said, reading the title.

"There's more. The Egyptian Pantheon and the Greco-Roman Pantheon sent their people to investigate during that entire debacle you all witnessed at the Celestial Council. Poseidon and Triton returned with grievous injuries and are currently in intensive care. The Egyptian God, Amon, was found dead, his body mutilated and impaled on spikes of ice along with the entire force Atlantis had sent to assist their king," Raphael told them, his face grim.

"H-How? Gods can't die!" Nancy reasoned.

"They can. It's just more difficult to pull off," he said.

"Anyway, Poseidon told us that their assailant was a demon with blue hair. She manipulated ice and was in the process of freezing the entire continent of Africa. He told us that she was seeking the entrance to Tartarus," he said.

"Like Tartarus, the Greek version of Hell?" Ingvild asked.

"Yes," Raphael replied.

"What do they want in Tartarus?" Mitsuki asked.

"I can think of a few things they would want but the Celestial Council has been in hysterics ever since this information was revealed. It seems that the death of an important god can serve as a good motivator. Various pantheons have sent reinforcements to Epirus to guard the doors and the Four Satans have sent devils to help guard where we think they might go to," Raphael said.

"Where?" Kiba asked.

"Cocytus. Their target is most likely Cocytus," he said.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 105**

**File Name: Prophets**

**GPS Ranking: Varies**

**File: Prophets are people chosen to wield immense power. Their power is directly given to them by God himself. When the previous prophet dies, a new one is chosen from a number of prospective prophets. Every prophet is the current host and incarnation of the First Prophet, Aclima.**

**The First Prophet was chosen by God out of the three children of Adam and Eve. Their youngest child and daughter, Aclima, became the First Prophet to ever exist. She served as the link between Mankind and God himself allowing God to speak directly to man without needing to manifest on Earth.**

**Eventually, Aclima relinquished the Prophet Spirit upon death starting a cycle of constant reincarnation in which her power would be reborn among in a prophet chosen among other prospects.**

**Weaknesses: Same as any human**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: Nancy is the first Prophet to awaken since the Great War.**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Guest says: this fanfic is trash ,you use many references of the supernatural series and now you put the author of the original light novel in your story ,you just need to be prophet of god so that in the end you will be the god of bible**

**Thank you! That's just what I was going for! I wanted to make this story look as garbage as I possibly could then insert myself into the story as a 15 year old Scottish girl who just happens to be a Prophet and then use my Prophet powers to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and Parliament and rule the UK before ousitng all the world powers from their positions and assume my place as high empress of everything that lives and breathes. Oh, and also God! You can never forget about God. **

**mir19 says: So ishibumi is god in the fic like chuck was in supernatural**

**Nope, that would be too obvious. God will appear but his appearance will be so subtle that you won't even notice that he even appeared in this fic until I reveal him. Also, Ishibumi isn't a real person in this fic as we just found out.**

**AnimeFan0216 says: That celestial council of theirs are such a disappointment, they just proved Lilith's statement about their alliance and peace is just a farce. Worst of it, Issei and his friends witnessed this event even the vote and majority of them did not want to take action. I wonder what Issei think about this? He, after all was there when Lilith declared their motives. I'm sure those cowards will piss themselves when they receive a report that a god was killed by a being they considered a MINOR threat.**

**You have just introduced a demon general that is modeled to Esdeath of Akame ga Kiru, at least the demon Astaroth is a tough challenge than a certain poor excuse of an Astaroth devil. Meanwhile, with our heroes, they just stumbled to the biggest challenge in their lives, finding the author Ishibumi- sensei and the other fanfiction writers. Well good luck with that. Oh right, one of the manwhores got dumped in a brutal way, he resorted to bashing and demeaning Issei when he thought he could not defeat him in battle, he even called him a menace because of his demon powers, really an embarrassment to the male population.**

**Honestly, if you read the article on the wiki, the idea and function of the council itself is useful in theory but with various deities working and a war that requires an all hands on deck, there were bound to be some people who would ruin it for everyone. Rudianos, whose personality uses Danzo from Naruto as a base, is the Gaulish God of War but he doesn't want to assist the Greeks or the Egyptians and is an overall dickbag. He managed to sway most of the council into agreeing with him so yeah, they're going to be useless for a long while.**

**Rhongomyniad says: Is Freyja based on Freya from Danmachi?**

**Yes. Yes, she is. In appearance only.**

**emiya-excalibur says: Reading fanfiction of your self must be /very/ surreal.**

**Also:"What the fuck!? Who writes that shit!? I would never have sex with Issei! Even if I was a girl!"**  
***causally closes an IsseiXFem!Vali story***

**Ehehe, I have no problem against IsseiXFem!Vali stories as I've read a couple myself and really liked them. *cough* Heroic Calamity, Switching Sides, Legend of the Heavenly Dragons*cough* I'm just writing how I think Vali would react upon seeing them.**

**Scrumblenut says: Well... that is an interesting thing to add... they now have the actual story of themselves... I have a feeling there will be more to it than that, meaning there will probably be several powers involved but oh well. The chapter kept itself paced, it wasn't rushed, and it wasn't slow. I look forward to the next chapter. Take care.**

**Oh, thank you and also, thank you for reading my new story. The new chapter will go up tomorrow or Monday so keep a lookout for that. As for powers, there is a power involved. It's just a teenage girl using her powers to make money.**

* * *

**So yeah, I hope no one was disappointed with the fact that I didn't put Ishibumi into it. I have this paranoia that if I put someone famous into my story without their permission, they'll sue me into oblivion so no I'm not adding Ishibumi. His name is now just an alias for Lance's sister, who has hemophilia and falsely diagnosed with schizophrenia and multiple personalities. Also, she's not God. For all you Supernatural watchers, get this through your thick skulls: Nancy is not God because A) that would be way too obvious and B) a rule of two requires me to have two so here's B. And now, Issei, Mitsuki, and Vali are the authors of _Do You Love Your Mom And Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?_ I know this story has a real author but let's pretend for the sake of this fic that it doesn't. So remember, review/fav/follow if you liked it and remember, have a great day or not the choice is yours!~**


	30. The Demonic Ice Princess

**Pyre: Alright, since the semester started, it will take a bit longer for me to update. Especially around midterms and finals so I hope you can all be patient. Someone brought something up that needed to be addressed so I'll talk about it here rather than down in the reviews. In Vol. 12, Issei got his body destroyed so how does he still have Miasma? The best analogy I can give you is AIDS. AIDS can be transferred sexually or through the blood. Miasma works somewhat the same. Miasma can be transferred without blood but as Azazel and Azrael mentioned all those chapters ago, most people don't make it and those that do become beasts. Blood acts as a medium, allowing for stable transfer. Miasma, as was mentioned, is generated by the soul of demons. The Special Children are artificial cambion whose souls generate Miasma. The Miasma from Lilith's blood fused itself with their souls kinda like how a virus hijacks a cell to make more of it. I realize that it's kind of complicated but it needed to be explained so you know how Issei still has it despite his body being destroyed. It's all in his soul, lying dormant like a virus during its incubation period. Anyhoozles, let's get started!**

**Gasper: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Ichiei Ishibumi. Anything else mentioned is owned by those people.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, March 27, 2020, 3:45 PM, Current Time: 2 minutes and 45 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei watched as Murayama dashed through and parried elemental constructs he, Ichika, and Lily had prepared for her. She was getting better. Hephaestus has told them that their weapons were almost finished when he went to go visit. It had become a regular thing for Issei to do. Visit his brother-in-law and niece. The three had bonded over stories that the two would tell Issei. Issei would be enthralled with tales of Lilith's adventures that either she told the two, or the three of them had experienced together. He smiled whenever they mentioned his name and how much Lilith cared for him. It also saddened him greatly that he would have to fight his older sister in this upcoming war.

"GAH!" Issei looked up as Murayama was blasted back into a wall by a lightning elemental.

"You can do it!" Ichika said.

"Go, Mura!" Lily cheered, pumping her small fist into the air.

Issei smiled. Ever since the death game, Issei had introduced Murayama to Lily and Tsukune and explained to them what she was. The four had bonded over their shared powers and became somewhat of a small family similar to Eden Squad.

Murayama clenched her jaw as she stared at the lightning elemental construct. She gripped her shinai and began to channel her Miasma into it. With a roar, she swung her shinai, creating an arc of violet energy that slice straight through the construct and the ones behind it like a hot knife through butter.

The arc traveled carving a trench into the ground before curving upward and slicing off a portion of the western portion of the school's roof. They all blinked as they saw it slam into the ground with a heavy crash.

"HYOUDOU!" Sona's furious screams could be heard from inside the school.

"RUN!" Issei said as they manifested their wings and took off into the air, flying as fast as they could from Sona's wrath.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 4:15 PM**

* * *

Everyone, except Issei, was sitting on the couch watching a movie, completely bored out of their minds. Nancy had moved in with them a few days ago after Raphael, disguised as a doctor, had told her parents that he was taking her overseas for treatment for her terminal hemophilia. What they didn't know was that Raphael had cured her. Nancy assured her parents that she would be fine and was currently sharing a room with Asia. The nun had been ecstatic to see a living Prophet in the flesh which made Nancy uncomfortable, to say the least.

She continued to write her stories but had yet to send in her most recent volume to Mikasa. Irina kept her eyes on the TV, not really watching the show. She had been thinking over the past few days about Issei's deal. Her talk with Nancy didn't make her feel any better about their chances of breaking him out of it.

"_Hey, um, since you're a Prophet, you can see the future right?" Irina asked Nancy._

_Nancy, who was typing up her draft, took off her glasses and turned to look at her._

"_Yeah, it kind of comes with the job," she replied. "Why do you ask?"_

"_It's about Issei. I assume that you know about his-"_

"_Deal? Yeah. I saw it and published it back when you know, the supernatural was just a figment of my imagination."_

"_Is there a way for us to break him out?"_

"_I don't know…"_

_Irina looked visibly saddened by her answer. "You have to know. You're a Prophet!" she said, her voice rising into a yell with every word._

_Nancy put her hands up. "That doesn't mean I'm omniscient. I'm not God or a god," she said._

_Irina sighed and collapsed onto the floor. She drew her knees up to her chest and sat, staring at the ground._

"_Why don't you ask that organization you guys met back a few months ago?" Nancy asked her._

_Irina looked at her with a slight smile. "Yeah, I should. Maybe they have something," she said._

"IRINA!" Irina snapped out of her memories when she saw Rossweisse and Kuroka looking at her.

"Sorry guys. I just have a lot on my mind," she said, waving off their concern with a laugh.

The two narrowed their eyes at her but continued anyway.

"So, about Issei's birthday," Kuroka started.

"We were thinking of giving him a present from all three of us," Rossweisse told her with a healthy blush on her face.

Irina raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why are you blushing?"

Kuroka rolled her eyes and leaned over and whispered into her ear. Irina's eyes grew wide and her face turned red as she listened to Kuroka's words.

"W-What? Are you sure?" Irina whispered back.

Kuroka gave her a sly grin. "Of course. It'll be a nice, sweaty night for all four of us, nya~!" Kuroka said, winking at her.

Irina nodded at her words.

Issei, Murayama, Ichika, and Lily all burst through the door, panting and looking like death. Everyone looked over and saw their faces.

"Um, do we even want to know what happened?" Kiba asked.

"HIDE US! SONA WANTS OUR HEADS!" Issei yelled as he jumped behind Kuroka and Rossweisse. Lily ran and crawled under the couch while Ichika formed tendrils and attached himself to the ceiling. Murayama looked around frantically and before diving behind the chair Ingvild sat on.

A few seconds later, a furious Sona Sitri walked into their house, exuding an aura of pain and death. Her glowing violet eyes scanned the room for the four who had incited her wrath.

"Where are they?" she said in a low tone.

"The Grove," Gasper said. "Senpai and the others ran to the Grove."

Sona nodded in thanks and walked out. Issei peaked out from behind Kuroka and sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Gyasuk-!" Issei didn't even finish his sentence when a water tendril came from the open front door and grabbed Issei by the ankle and pulled him out the door.

"HEEELLLLPPPPP!" he said, as Sona stood over him with an evil grin.

"Fufufu, Issei-kun. You thought you could escape me? How cute. Now, come. You're fixing the school roof," Sona said as she began to drag Issei away.

Before she could get any further, Risa appeared in front of her. The angel looked at her then to Issei, who began to plead with her to get him out of this. Risa sighed and looked over to Sona.

"Sitri-san, I'll pay for the damages. Please let Issei go. We need him for something," she said.

Sona looked at her annoyed that she couldn't get Issei to fix the school roof.

"Fine. But next time, Issei has to fix the roof," Sona said, releasing her hold on the poor cambion. "Be grateful that Risa-dono has saved you, Hyoudou-kun."

Sona formed a transportation circle and teleported away.

"You know I won't always be there right?" Risa said, looking down at a grateful Issei with a slightly amused look.

"But you have to! Raphael-sama and Az-nee said that you're my guardian angel!" Issei said childishly.

"Guardian is stretching it a little. I'm more your babysitter now," she said, crossing her arms. Issei pouted, causing Risa to sigh.

"C' mon, you big man child," she began to drag Issei by the back of his shirt back into the house.

Risa walked into the house, dragging Issei by the back of his shirt.

"Look, we have something for you guys," Risa said, still holding the back of Issei's shirt.

"What is it?" Vali asked.

"Well, Hephaestus-sama finished your weapons early. It seems that with the other Olympians occupied with the Celestial Council, he had more time to finish forging your weapons," Risa said.

"Are you all ready? Hephaestus and Harmonia are waiting for us," she said.

"Yeah, hold on. Lily! Let's go. We're visiting Heph!" Issei said.

"Okay!" she said, crawling out from under the couch.

Risa formed a massive magic circle and teleported to Olympus.

* * *

**Hephaestus's Workshop, Mount Olympus, 4:45 PM**

* * *

A flash of brilliant violet light caused Harmonia to look up from her laptop. She walked over to the window of her father's temple and looked out the window. Seeing that it was Risa with Eden Squad and Vali Team, she opened the doors.

"You're here ya lazy butts!" she said, waving at them. "Come in!" Harmonia held the doors open for them as Eden Squad and Vali Team entered Hephaestus's temple.

"Dad! They're here!" Harmonia said to him.

"Alright! Eros, help me with this," the sound of a large cart being rolled across the stone floor could be heard as a man with black hair and blue eyes wearing a white suit similar to Harmonia's opened the door while Hephaestus wheeled a covered cart into the room.

"Alright, then," Hephaestus said, pulling the covers off the cart revealing a stack of boxes ranging from as tall as Gasper to as long as someone's forearm. "When I call your name, please come up to the cart. Le Fay Pendragon."

Le Fay walked up to Hephaestus nervously. Hephaestus handed her a long box. Taking the box from him, Le Fay opened it to reveal her new wand. The wand was slender and sleek. It was made of ebony, which was infused with a metal that Le Fay did not recognize. It was extremely lightweight, seeing as Le Fay felt nearly nothing when holding the box. The minute Le Fay made contact with the wand, a surge of energy surged through her, connecting her to the wand.

"So, how does it feel?" Hephaestus asked.

"Like it's a part of me," she said as she channeled mana through the wand. Several elemental magic circles appeared on it. Le Fay smiled and quickly dispelled it.

"It feels more a part of me than my staff did," she said, smiling at her new tool.

"Let me explain a few things for you magic users out there. The fact that your weapons are now Enochian ones means that if you physically attack someone with it, the weapon will harm their souls but since your wands cannot land a fatal hit through physical means, I recommend learning higher level magics for more powerful beings. Other than that, your magic is enhanced by your wands. Speaking of wands. Rossweisse," Hephaestus picked up a long slender box.

Rossweisse walked up and graciously accepted the box. Her wand looked similar to its prior appearance, keeping its Misteleinn makeup, except the tip was outlined with a small metal point. Rossweisse picked up the wand and formed an instant connection with the wand.

Seeing this, Hephaestus picked up the next couple of boxes and called out their owners. Gasper, Ingvild, Kiba, Kuroka, and Bikou all walked up and retrieved their weapons.

"This is amazing," Ingvild said as she swung her kukri around.

"Careful!" Eros said, as she almost cut him with the knife.

"Sorry," she apologized, looking down in slight embarrassment.

"Right, Vali," Hephaestus lifted a large box that was nearly as tall as Vali. Vali accepted the box and laid it down on the floor before opening it.

Vali was sent into awe as he stared at the blade. The sword's blade was curved much like a scimitar and was slightly longer than his arm. Its base was ornately etched and modeled after a German Great Knife's base. The most unique feature was the motorcycle like grip. The guard had an ornately designed grip that resembled that of a backward basket hilt. Along the back of the blade were six large exhaust pipes that ran along the back for almost half of the blade's entire length.

"You like it?" Harmonia asked.

"Like it? This is the most beautiful sword I've ever seen!" he said.

"Haha! I haven't even explained the features yet!" Hephaestus said.

"Features?" Vali looked at him curiously. He had stars in his eyes and was drooling at the combat capabilities of the sword.

"Well, one unique feature. You see that handle?"

"Yeah," Vali said, lifting the sword and feeling the connection form.

"Twist it," Hephaestus said.

Vali nodded and twisted the grip. The sound of an engine filled the room as the blade began to vibrate giving off the appearance of flickering.

"The blade is the only one of its kind at the moment. It's a vibrosword. The blade vibrates at high frequencies, increasing cutting power. It also raises the blade's temperatures to extreme levels allowing you to cut straight through extremely durable armor and defenses. In addition, you can channel your Taint through it," he said.

Vali held the new sword and looked like a kid who received all of his favorite toys at Christmas. Mitsuki couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of a sword.

"Looks like you love that sword more than me," she grumbled. Vali looked up and walked over to his irate girlfriend and hugged her from behind, causing her to blush.

"That sword has nothing on you," Vali whispered into her ear. Mitsuki smiled at his words. Issei stood over in the corner with Irina and Arthur, smiling. Arthur had moved several feet away when Issei started to release the foulest killing aura. Irina sighed and pinched Issei's ear.

"OWWW! Irina, let go!" Issei wailed.

"Then, calm down," she said.

"Okay! Okay!" At those words, Irina released his ear. Lily giggled at her brother's predicament and laughed when he looked at her with a pout.

"Arthur," Hephaestus said. Arthur walked up. "I couldn't really destroy Caliburn so I decided to forge you something else."

Arthur accepted the new silver sword. The hilt was wrapped in golden silk with an ornately decorated guard. There were small runes inscribed on the blade.

"Oh, here's Caliburn," Hephaestus said, handing it back to him. "Mitsuki."

Mitsuki walked up to the forge god, eager to receive her weapon. Her wrist blades were going to be so awesome.

Hephaestus handed her a box which she took and opened. Inside was a pair of dark blue slender gauntlets. The gauntlet shined as the light reflected off the dark blue metal. There was an opening on the front of the gauntlets. Mitsuki picked them up and put them on her forearms. She felt elated as her connection to her weapon formed.

"How do I summon the blades?" Mitsuki said as she inspected the gauntlets. They felt like a second pair of skin. It fit seamlessly around her arms.

"The blades can be summoned by your will. Just will them out of the gauntlets," he said.

Mitsuki focused on the blades. A metal scraping sound came from the gauntlets as a serrated silver-colored blade sprung from the gauntlet. The blade was fourteen inches in length and looked menacing.

"Woah!" she said, staring in awe at the blades.

"That blade is designed to channel all forms of energy. It's also sharp enough to cut straight through the hide of a Nemean Lion, which is one of the toughest hides in existence," Hephaestus said.

"Hey Vali, look!" she said, retracting and protracting the blades.

"Irina," Hephaestus said. She walked up and received a box from Hephaestus. "It took a while but, I was able to melt down Hauteclere. So open it."

Irina opened the blade and gawked at Hauteclere's new appearance. Its grip was cobalt blue and the guard curved slightly upward and was gold in color with blue accents. The pommel was flat and golden in color. The blade retained its silvery sheen but had a slight golden tint on it. Irina gripped the blade's handle and felt the connection form instantly. Irina focused on the blade and channeled her Grace into it. The blade and designs on the guard and grip began to glow blue.

"Woah," she said.

"The blade is designed to channel Grace and amplify it hence the glow. The blade can also be elongated with your grace," Hephaestus explained.

Hearing his words, Irina pumped more of her grace into the sword causing a blade of pure energy to erupt from the blade, extending it to three times its length. Everyone backed away from her. Seeing her blade grow in size, Irina smiled and reigned in her energy, causing the blade to revert to its original length.

"Thank you, Hephaestus-sama," Irina said.

"Last but certainly least. Haha, kidding. Issei," Hephaestus called.

Issei walked up to Hephaestus with anticipation.

"You know, Ascalon was tough to crack. I almost gave up on it because it seemed almost unmeltable but lo and behold, it melted. After one hundred and twenty hours of nonstop fanning," Hephaestus said proudly.

"How long did it take to melt the others?" Issei asked.

"A few hours. Hauteclere and Ruyi Jingu-Bang took slightly longer to melt but in the end, they did as well. Flames fueled by a soul burn nearly as hot as a star so it would melt eventually. The only reason Caliburn didn't melt is that I didn't want to ruin such a masterpiece," Hephaestus said.

"W-Wait, Ascalon is a masterpiece too!" Issei said indignantly.

"It is. And now it's better," Hephaestus told him. He gestured for him to open the box.

Upon opening it, Issei saw some drastic changes in the sword. For one the sword's guard no longer had four dragon claws pointing upward. It had a simple guard that curved upwards slightly with red lines running through it. The grip was now wider near the guard rather than near the pommel. The pommel was no longer pointed and became flat. Also, the entire sword was now pitch black and the blade had red lines that pulsed energy running along both sides of the blade.

"What happened to it?" Issei asked as he inspected the sword.

"It was your Miasma. It altered the blade's appearance when it was finished cooling," Hephaestus said. "Channel your Miasma into it. I applied seals to the blade to make it more manageable to carry. In doing so, I had to suppress the blade's full power."

Issei did as instructed and the blade transformed. It was similar to Ascalon's original appearance. The sword appearing as a large two-handed sword made mostly of a dark substance resembling solidified lava, with claws running up its length, talons for a handguard and a red jewel on its pommel.

"It doesn't feel any different despite its size," Issei said.

"Of course it doesn't. I refined it to weigh the same as Ascalon did in its initial appearance despite looking like a two-hander," Hephaestus said.

Issei swung it a few times to get a feel for it. Satisfied with the weapon, he reapplied the seals, summoned Boosted Gear, and stored the weapon inside the gem.

**[Nice blade. Even though it's designed to kill my kind, I like it]** Ddraig said as he inspected the weapon inside the gear.

**|I agree. Hephaestus has really outdone himself this time|** Tiamat said.

"Yeah, thanks Aniki," Issei said, shaking his hand.

"Of course, I have to give one of my only favorite brothers a fighting chance against my wife and your sister," Hephaestus said while shaking Issei's hand.

After profusely thanking the Forge God, Eden Squad made to leave his temple. As they walked by, all the light bulbs at the front door exploded. Hephaestus, Harmonia, and Eros turned and looked at Issei. Hephaestus sighed.

"I'll get one of the nymphs to clean it up," he said.

Not wanting to bother the forge god, even more, the group quickly teleported from Olympus.

* * *

**Crete, Greece, 5:30 PM**

* * *

Vigne had been flying around the Mediterranean for several hours, looking for clues for the cause of the blizzard. All the signs pointed to one demon in particular that she knew of who was powerful enough to do this level of damage. Deciding to take a break, Vigne dove through the clouds like a bullet, speeding to the ground. Spreading her wings suddenly, Vigne floated and landed softly on Crete. Up ahead, she saw the city of Ierapetra ahead. Ierapetra was a city on the southernmost portion of Crete. Various hotels for tourists dotted the skyline. She walked for several minutes when she felt every hair on her body stand on end. A chilling breeze that was too uncommon for the season blew past her. Vigne looked up and saw storm clouds in the sky. A white speck fell and landed on her outstretched palm.

_Snow?_ Vigne's eyes widened at the sight. Spreading her wings, she took off in the city's direction, creating a large crater from the force of her takeoff. Speeding at speeds that shouldn't be possible for a being like her, Vigne arrived hovering over the town as she saw large spikes of ice erupt from the ground decimating the cityscape.

Vigne landed on the ground amidst the devastation. A scream caught her ears as she saw a large column of ice begin to collapse. The column fell towards a child, who had tripped while running. Vigne grabbed the child and jumped out of the way of the ice column.

"Thanks miss!" the child said.

"Huh? Yeah, right. Not the time kid. I need you to run you understand? Run!" Vigne said. The kid nodded and ran off.

Vigne summoned her rapier, Lexida. Lexida was a long, silver rapier with an aquamarine guard. The hilt was decorated with ornately designed crosses and a blue gem sat on the pommel of the sword. She drew her sword at imperceivable speeds and deflected the blade of whoever attacked her.

Vigne's eyes grew wide at the sight of her attacker. "You?"

Vigne had no time to say more as she immediately backflipped out of the way of an onslaught of ice spikes. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her rapier. With a heavy heart, Vigne charged towards her opponent.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, March 30, 2020, 8:45 AM**

* * *

Koneko and Ravel sat lazily in their desks with Hiruko in between them trying to spark a conversation with the two. Ravel, being the polite girl she was, responded to his words with nods and smiles. Koneko sat there, looking completely bored and disinterested in class. The teacher was teaching them something about atoms when a knock was heard on the door.

The teacher stopped and muttered something about the blasphemy of interrupting science. After he walked out, the class began to mutter at what it was. Koneko turned her eyes slowly to Ingvild, who was scribbling something in her notebook.

The door opened and their teacher walked in with a girl. She had brown hair and violet eyes and wore the Kuoh Academy Uniform with the red blazer for honors students. She stood at the front of the room and her analytical eyes scanned the class. Everyone squirmed underneath her seemingly all-knowing gaze before her gaze settled upon Ingvild. The girl smiled slightly and waved at her, causing Ingvild to smile and wave back.

"Class, we have a new student. She's from Scotland and is here for the exchange program. Please make her feel welcome. Now young lady, will you please introduce yourself?" he asked.

Nancy thanked the stars that one of her prophet powers was accelerated learning of other tongues. Due to this, she had learned to speak and write Japanese in two days. Nancy walked up to the board and wrote her name before bowing in front of the class.

"My name is Nancy McCarthy, pleased to meet all of you," she said, smiling.

"Does anyone have any questions?" the teacher asked. "Yes," he said, pointing to a random girl.

"What do you like to do?" the girl asked.

"Oh, well, I'm aspiring to become a light novel and I'm an animator on Youtube," she said.

"Really, what's your channel name?" another person asked.

"ScottishDelights. Please subscribe to me," she said.

"Alright, one more question because we have to continue class," the teacher said. "Hiruko."

"Are you single?" he asked.

"Yup. Why?" she answered.

"No reason," he said, earning himself suspicious looks from Koneko and Ravel.

"Alright, Nancy, please take that empty seat next to Lucross-san. Lucross-san, raise your hand," Ingvild's hand immediately shot into the air the minute the teacher called her alias.

Nancy walked over to her and sat down on the desk next to her. She turned to Ingvild and smiled.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, _Lucross-san~_," Nancy said, smirking mischievously.

Ingvild smiled at her in response before returning her undivided attention back to the board.

Lunch rolled around for all of them. The teacher left for a much-needed break, continuing to grumble under his breath about how kids were more interested in fantasy than science. After he left, everyone had immediately surrounded Nancy and began to fire off questions.

"Can you shout me out in one of your videos!?"

"Do you know TheOdd1sOut, JaidenAnimations, or Domics?"

"Did you go to Pewdiepie's wedding?"

"Can you sign this for me? I'm a big fan of your channel! I even have all of your merch!"

Nancy shrank back into her seat at the sight of so many people. Luckily, Ingvild immediately jumped to her aid and held her arms out in front of the approaching crowd. She narrowed her orange eyes and released a small amount of her taint, causing them to glow menacingly.

"Back off," she said. "Don't scare the new girl."

"You alright?" she said.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned my channel," Nancy said, slumping in her chair.

"Ingvild. Nancy," the two turned and saw Kiba walking towards them.

"Oh, Kiba, what do you need?" Ingvild asked.

"It's urgent!" he said, causing Ingvild to become serious. "Let's go," he said, walking away from them.

"Look, I have to go. If you have any problems, ask that girl with brown hair and green eyes and student council badge. We'll be back for you," Ingvild said, sprinting out the door after she bade her goodbye.

Nancy looked at her in confusion before her eyes flashed gold momentarily. Her eyes narrowed.

"It's a trap," she whispered under her breath.

* * *

Ingvild and Kiba ran into Azrael's office and saw the rest of Eden Squad who was watching Azrael having a small argument with Azazel.

"Azrael, you should have let us recover naturally. You just restored your full power and now you lost it getting me to eighteen wings and Uriel to sixteen," Azazel said, sternly to his twin.

"Don't worry. It'll come back," she reassured him.

"In several centuries!" he said.

"Relax, I didn't use a whole lot of power," she said, spreading eighteen wings. "It'll come back much more quickly with you at eighteen wings. You can help now"

Issei coughed getting their attention.

Azazel turned and saw Eden Squad, standing there waiting for them.

"Right, it's good that you're all here," Azazel said.

"What's going on?" Mitsuki asked.

"Vigne has gone missing. She was sent to investigate a slew of demon attacks in the Mediterranean. We last had contact with her two days ago. The Council is still debating their next move so we decided to go behind their backs and send you along with Bael Peerage, Phenex Peerage, and Cao Cao's Team," Azrael explained.

"They're already there so all we have to do is send you lot to them," Azazel explained.

"What about school, Nancy, and Lily? Who'll train Murayama?" Issei asked.

"We'll take care of everything," Azazel assured him.

"Ready?"

The group nodded and Azrael snapped her fingers, teleporting them to Crete.

"It's bothering me how much we don't know about their movements," Azrael said to her twin.

"She's cloaking them. It's the only way they can escape the senses of the Elder Gods, much less us of all beings," Azazel muttered.

Azrael looked down at the photo of their family. It was taken before World War II. They looked so happy in the photo.

"Nee-sama," she said softly, touching the picture.

* * *

**Crete, Greece, 11:30 AM**

* * *

Eden Squad arrived amidst the frozen wasteland that was once the bustling city of Ierapetra. Large spikes of ice jutted from the ground and a large meteor made of pure ice lay in the distance surrounded by ruined hotels and businesses. Frozen corpses lay strewn all over the streets. A chill wind swept through the snow-covered streets, causing Irina to shiver.

"It's so cold!" she said.

"Guys," Gasper said, pointing in the direction of the Mediterranean. They all turned to where he was looking and saw a broken ice field.

"What happened here?" Rossweisse muttered, taking in the sight.

"That's what we're here to find out," Issei said as he began to walk in the direction of the ice meteor.

* * *

After walking for a few hours, Issei spotted a familiar mop of blonde hair wearing a familiar red blazer.

"Riser!" Issei waved.

Riser turned around and saw Issei and smirked. "Took you long enough to get here Hyoudou!" the man said.

Issei and his team jogged over and greeted Phenex Peerage. After shaking Riser's hand, Issei spotted Sairaorg and Kuisha walking over, holding hands.

"Ho ho! Congratulations, who did it?" Issei said.

Sairaorg and Kuisha blinked. "How did you-"

"Know? Everyone had a little betting pool going to see who would confess first. So, who did it?" Issei asked, eager to collect upon his winnings.

"I did," Sairaorg said. Issei, Kiba, Gasper, Rossweisse, and Ingvild groaned before pulling out wads of cash and handing them to Mitsuki and Irina. Issei formed a CC and called Sona.

"Sona."

"Yeah," she replied.

"It was Sairaorg. Sairaorg confessed," he said.

"WHAT!? NOW I OWE IRINA, RIAS, TSUBAKI, AND MITSUKI MONEY!" she screeched over the CC. Issei had covered his ears in anticipation.

"Yeah…" he said.

"Fine, tell your girlfriend and sister that I'll have the money ready when you get back," Sona grumbled before severing the link.

"You were betting on our relationship?" Kuisha asked, narrowing her green eyes at them.

"Yup," Irina said, counting the money she collected.

"Aren't angels supposed to be charitable and not greedy?" Riser asked her.

"Hehe, you've never heard of living a human life then, Mr. KFC," Irina said as she gave Mitsuki a victory high five.

"If you're all done playing around, we have work to do," a young man with black hair, a blue eye, and an eyepatch covering his right eye, called from atop a collapsed building. He wore a mix of a Japanese Male Winter Uniform and ancient Chinese Attire. In his right hand, was an ornate spear with a dark blue rod, and is more extensive than regular spears. It featured golden metal decorations, in the shapes of arrow tips, that spiral around in a double helix pattern. The decorations finish at the top of the rod of the spear which features a white circle, which was completely empty and has a cross that fills in the circle, but not completely. There is a small silver stump which features four protrusions, two on the left and the other two on the right. The tip of the spear is silver, and similar to the rod of the spear is longer than other types of spears. This spear was True Longinus, the most powerful Sacred Gear in existence.

"Cao Cao," Issei called.

"Red Dragon Emperor," he said in response. Next to him was a man with shoulder-length silver hair wearing the same uniform as Cao Cao. He was Heracles, the descendant of Heracles.

To Cao Cao's right was a young man wearing glasses and hand spiky brown hair. He also wore a uniform and had red mage robes over it. He was Georg, possessor of the Longinus Sacred Gear, **Dimension Lost**.

"Unholy Empress of Destiny. Red Dragon Emperor, it's been a while," Georg said to Issei and Mitsuki.

The two nodded in greeting.

The last two were a man with black hair tied in a bun wearing shades and a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Connla. Jeanne," Kiba said.

Jeanne grinned while Connla nodded.

"Let's go," Cao Cao said, hopping down from the building and walking in the other direction.

The others immediately moved to follow after him.

"Hyoudou, tell us what we're looking for," Cao Cao said, inspecting the ice. He jammed the butt of True Longinus against it, breaking the ice.

"We're looking for demons. Az-nee said that they're still here," Issei said to him.

"Demons huh? Like devils?" Cao Cao asked him.

"No. If you want a comparison, think of a demon as a devil on crack," Issei said. "But much worse."

"Hmph, I think I can handle it," he said.

Issei suddenly summoned Ascalon. Cao Cao narrowed his eyes at the sudden movement and readied himself.

A man with glowing black eyes jumped from one of the windows and charged towards the group.

"DEMON!" Issei said. Everyone summoned their weapons and readied themselves for a fight. Cao Cao twirled True Longinus and stabbed it into the demon, killing it.

"Weak," he said, wiping the blood off the blade.

"Don't get too cocky. That demon was weaker than all of us. We could have easily killed it" Issei warned him as he walked past Cao Cao.

Issei looked up and saw the corpses of numerous demons strewn across the street. Slash wounds were present all over their bodies but what got Issei the most was their signature. It was human.

"I don't think those are demons," Irina said, feeling the energy out. "They're people!"

Everyone's eyes grew wide at her words. "People?" Cao Cao gripped True Longinus in anger.

"Most likely vessels. Like Akeno," Rossweisse said, inspecting a body.

"So, that demon I just killed was a…" Cao Cao looked back at the corpse of the man.

"A possessed human, yeah," Mitsuki said.

Without saying anything else, the group walked on, investigating the city. Issei began to grow more uneasy as they neared the ice meteor. He noticed that it had begun to snow lightly. As they got closer, the snow increased in density.

"Anyone else it weird that it's snowing here?" Yubelluna said.

"Yeah," Riser said, producing a flame to melt the snow.

Issei stopped and extended his senses towards the ice meteor which now stood a few thousand feet from where they were. His eyes widened as he felt it. Power. It was on par with Ddraig, Albion, and Crom Cruach. This power surpassed the Chief Deities!

"Guys get rea-!" Issei never finished his sentence as a massive spike of ice erupted from the earth, forcing them all to scatter.

Issei landed on the ground next to Rossweisse. "Are you alright?" Issei asked.

"Yeah," she said. The entire portion of the city was frozen in ice.

"Not even Lavinia could do this if she tried," Issei said as he looked out at the icy devastation before them. He looked over and saw everyone recovering. They were shaken by the sudden attack but recovering.

"What was that?" Cao Cao asked, ready to stab True Longinus into the attacker.

"That would be me," they all turned upon hearing the voice. It was a low and mature female voice that sent shivers down their spines. Hovering above them with her black wings spread was a woman. Her skin was pale and had long knee-length blue hair. Her eyes were icy-blue and held no semblance of mercy inside them. Only the promise of pure agony and slow death. She wore a white general's and held a large sheathed captain's sword.

"Are you here for Vigne? She put up a nice fight but in the end, she had to go to sleep," the woman said.

"Who are you?" Riser said.

"Me? Oh, I have many names that I've acquired. The Ice Princess. Snow White. The Snow Queen. Astarte. Astoreth. But you may call me, Astaroth," she introduced herself.

Issei's eyes widened as he felt her power. "You're like me," he said. Everyone turned their eyes to Issei and back to Astaroth in shock.

"A cambion. Why yes I am but unlike you, I was born one. From the union of human and demon," she said.

"What do you want?" Irina asked, drawing Hauteclere.

"I was merely taking a nice leisurely stroll to Epirus when Vigne decided to interrupt me," she said.

"So y-" Ingvild was interrupted by Cao Cao, who had decided to step up and point True Longinus at Astaroth. The woman narrowed her eyes at the action.

"Are you sure you're allowed to be playing with that?" she asked. "Pseudo-Enochian Weapons are not a toy."

"Did you do this to all these people?" he asked, his voice laced in anger.

Astaroth raised an eyebrow at his question. "I'm pretty sure that it's kinda obvious who did it. Besides, what do you care? How many innocent beings have you killed in your life merely because they weren't human?" Astaroth said.

Cao Cao growled and tightened his grip on True Longinus. "I'm going to kill you," he said.

"Good luck wi-" Astaroth's eyes grew wide as Cao Cao appeared in front of her thrusting True Longinus. She raised her hand, creating an ice sword and deflected the lance. Astaroth and Cao Cao danced around each other trading blows with their respective weapons.

Longinus met Ice blade as sparks flew. Everyone watched in awe as Cao Cao matched Astaroth in combat. Suddenly, Cao Cao parried a blow, causing Astaroth to stagger. Taking advantage of this momentary lapse, Cao Cao ran her through with True Longinus. The blade came out the other side as blood splattered all over the frozen pavement.

She stared wide-eyed at Cao Cao, who was smiling an evil grin. "I told you that you'd die for that," he said as he lifted divebombed with the lance and pinned Astaroth to the building. He twisted the lance while inside her wound, causing her to grunt in pain.

"Heh…" she muttered out.

"What was that?" he said. "I can't hear you over the sound of your gurgling."

"I said is that it?" her eyes glowed blue as her pained face morphed into a sinister, sadistic smile.

Cao Cao's eyes widened when he felt his ribs break. Blood came out of his mouth as he was thrown into a building from the force of the blow.

Everyone watched with wide eyes as Astaroth grabbed True Longinus and pulled it out of her stomach. The wound hissed and black smoke began to rise out of it as the wound rapidly closed, leaving no trace of it ever being there. Not even a scar.

"How did you survive that?" Jeanne said as she looked at Astaroth in fear.

"We're much more durable than devils. Our Miasma is nearly identical to Angelic Grace meaning that most holy objects don't work on us. Also, you're simply not strong enough to kill me. But to be fair, that did hurt a lot," Astaroth said. Suddenly, True Longinus flew from her grip and into Cao Cao's.

He looked at her with fury in his eyes. "**Isutei Ratana!**"

Astaroth narrowed her eyes and tried to summon ice only to find that she couldn't. "Interesting," she said. Cao Cao jumped at her, thrusting the lance in her direction. She swung her sheathed sword, deflecting the lance. Behind her, Heracles appeared, his fist coated in orange energy. She raised her hand and caught his fist, gripping it tightly causing the bones in his hands to begin to crack.

Astaroth then shifted her weight and staggered Cao Cao using her sword. Tossing her blade into the air, she grabbed Cao Cao's head with her free hand and slammed Heracles and Cao Cao into each other before tossing them aside.

Astaroth turned her gaze on the others. Everyone stood there frozen as she just took out a member of the Hero Faction and the Wielder of the True Longinus.

"Come now, Red Dragon. Princess Lilith has told me so much about you. Don't tell me that everything she said about your power was a lie," Astaroth said, charging straight at Issei.

Issei's eyes widened as he raised Ascalon to block Astaroth's sword. The two were in a deadlock as Astaroth increased the force on Ascalon, forcing Issei to his knees.

Behind her, Sairaorg appeared with Regulus Nemea in its ax form. He swung the blade down only for it to strike the empty air.

"Saiarorg, look out!" Kuisha yelled as she readied a magic circle.

Sairorg turned and saw Astaroth behind him. She grabbed his face and lifted him off the ground.

Issei immediately sprung forth summoning Boosted Gear to help his friend. Astaroth turned her gaze to him and threw him back with her telekinesis.

Kuisha fired bolts of energy at Astaroth. The cambion raised her hand and a wall of ice blocked the attacks.

"Her powers are back!" Irina said as she saw her raise a wall of ice.

Astaroth turned her attention back to Sairaorg, who was struggling with all his might to escape her grip. She began to pour Miasma into her palm and Sairaorg felt intense pain as he felt energy course through his body.

**[|ABYSS DRAGON DRIVE!|]** An armored Issei flew straight to Astaroth with Ascalon poised to strike her. Astaroth ceased her actions and raised her free hand, freezing Issei in mid-air.

**[You'll have to use your other mode! She's too strong for you in this form!]** Ddraig said.

Issei grit his teeth as he began to unleash all of his Miasma. His eyes glowed orange as a wave of power exploded from him. Astaroth dropped Sairaorg and turned her full attention to Issei. Her eyes were now filled with mild interest.

"**Demon Soul: Abaddon!**" Issei assumed his demon form and hovered in front of Astaroth. He released the seals on Ascalon, transforming it. The blade split down the middle, creating a second blade that burned with fiery red energy.

"We have to help Issei!" Riser said as he was covered in flames. The flames morphed into a massive phoenix, the very same form he used in the Azazel Cup. He charged in his phoenix form towards Astaroth while her back was turned. Yubelluna and his peerage moved to assist their master.

Eden Squad looked at each other with a nod. They all drew their weapons and charged at the cambion. Astaroth turned her gaze to see a massive group of people and a phoenix heading in her direction. Sensing Issei getting closer, Astaroth drew her sword and deflected Ascalon. She twisted her body to avoid Riser's talons and sent a wave of ice spikes to the other offenders.

Seeing a massive shadow on the ground, she jumped, dodging Ingvild's **Blood Dragon Ascension**. Astaroth smiled. This might entertain her like that battle she had with Vigne or those three gods. Astaroth's ice glowed blue as she summoned a massive black dragon made of pure snow.

Ingvild narrowed her eyes as she began to fight against the massive black snow dragon. She leaped from one of her dragon's heads and stabbed her knife through the Snow Dragon's head, dispelling it.

Rossweisse pointed her wand at Astaroth and channeled her taint through it, casting a spell she learned a few months ago.

"**Mors Lumine!**" a stream of white fire spat forth from a white magic circle. The flames impacted Astaroth, creating a massive twister of white fire.

Everyone circled the twister, waiting in anticipation. Suddenly, a hail of ice shards pierced through the flames. Irina raised and swung Hauteclere, releasing a bright blue wave of energy that deflected all of the shards.

Issei turned to all of them and shouted, "Everyone, give me five minutes!"

"What for Senpai?" Gasper said as he dodged an ice spike.

"To do this!" Issei said, raising his forearms revealing two familiar magic circles.

The others nodded and went to occupy Astaroth.

"_You ready, Ddraig?_" Issei asked.

**[It would be a cliche to say I was born ready so I'll say this instead. I CAN WIN! I FEEL GREAT! I! CAN! DO! THIS!]** Ddraig roared.

Tiamat giggled at his antics. **|Hyping ourselves up are we|** she said.

"_Sorry, I can't summon you for this Tia. Summoning just one of you cuts the cooldown time in half_," Issei apologized.

**|Think nothing of it, whelp**, Tiamat said

* * *

Irina backflipped and switched out with Kuisha, who opened her Hole and absorbed all of Astaroth's ice. She opened more Holes and sent the attack back at her.

Astaroth raised her hand, freezing all of the spikes in mid-air and shattered them. Cao Cao appeared behind her with True Longinus and attempted to run her through a second time. The cambion swiftly turned and deflected the lance. She sent a devastating kick to his right arm and sent him flying into Kiba.

**[Get down brats!] **a voice called from the sky. Mitsuki turned and saw Ddraig flying towards them.

"Everyone, scatter!" she yelled. Looking up and seeing the Welsh Dragon, everyone jumped out of the way.

Ddraig roared and slammed his fist down on Astaroth. His eyes widened when he saw the cambion holding it up.

Astaroth grunted as she held up the Red Dragon's fist. She smiled at the thought of fighting a Heavenly Dragon. Letting go and quickly rolling out from under it, she thrust her palms forward and unleashed a telekinetic wave that staggered Ddraig. She jumped up and swung her sword across his chest, causing Ddraig to howl in pain as her sword cut into his soul.

The Dragon narrowed his eyes in anger at her and swung his tail, sending her careening into a nearby building. Ddraig doubled his powers five times and unleashed a torrent of crimson flames at the downed cambion.

Astaroth's eyes widened as the flames traveled towards her. Using ice as a boost, she launched herself into the air and threw an ice javelin at Ddraig.

Ddraig flapped his wings, sending a gale the shattered the ice spear.

Astaroth unfurled her wings and hovered, staring the dragon down. Without any warning, she charged towards him with a gleeful look on her face. As she neared him, a turquoise streak intercepted her and delivered a blow with such force that everyone, including Ddraig, was forced a few inches back as the ground beneath them broke. Astaroth impacted the ground and skidded for several hundred feet and landed in the Mediterranean Sea, creating a large splash.

Water rained down as everyone squinted their eyes to see who just attacked Astaroth. The turquoise aura dimmed down to reveal another blue-haired woman, wearing a white and blue combat dress with a sleeveless long coat. The woman turned to face them and they recognized her immediately.

"Vigne-san?" Kiba said.

"We thought you were dead!" Irina said.

"Surprise! I'm not," she said, doing a grand pose.

Everyone sighed in relief but stiffened when the water exploded. Astaroth shot out into the air with her wings spread and surrounded by an aura that froze the air around her. She looked at Vigne with excitement.

Vigne returned her expression and gave her a confident smirk. She turned to Ddraig.

"Sit this one out. I got this," she said.

**[Fine, but I get the next one. Deal, Daughter of Cain?]** Ddraig said.

Vigne smiled and nodded before turning her attention to Astaroth. She drew Lexida and pointed it at her.

"Ready for round two, Nee-sama?"

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 1022**

**File: Astaroth**

**GPS Rank: AAA-Deity Class Demon (Base)**

**File: Astaroth is**** a Knight of Hell, an ancient order consisting of ten extremely powerful demons that once existed. She is also the patron of witchcraft often granting blessings to witches and wizards that she finds worthy of her blessing. She is stated to wield power equalling that of the Heavenly Dragons.**

**File End**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 500**

**File: Ddraig**

**GPS Rank: AAA-Deity Class Dragon (Base Form Rank)**

**File: Ddraig is the Red Dragon of Domination and one of the two Heavenly Dragons. He is the arch-rival of Albion, the White Dragon of Supremacy. He is the mate of the Dragon King, Tiamat. Currently, he is sealed inside the Boosted Gear and is hosted by Issei Hyoudou.**

**Notes:**

**Dantalion: The story between Tiamat and Ddraig is like that of star crossed lovers.**

**File End**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 1023**

**File: Vigne (pronounced Vain)**

**GPS Rank: AA to AAA Rank Deity Class Demon**

**File: Vigne is**** a former Knight of Hell, an ancient order consisting of ten extremely powerful demons that disbanded sometime during the American Civil War. She is the patron of the arts and the mentor of King Solomon. She is also the youngest daughter of Cain and Avan. Vigne is married to the Fallen Angel and Cadre, Tyrael, and the mother of Ruby.**

**File End**

* * *

**Review Reply:**

**Scrumblenut says:** **Cocytus... Samael? Nice touch with Nancy, though I'm curious how the whole prophet thing is going to work. For her to be put into the supernatural, she will need to learn things such as self-defence, which might be a pain to do from scratch. Other than that, I rushed through this chapter, so I'll have another look at it later this afternoon. Take care**

**First off, you always say Take care but I never say it back and for that I'm sorry. Also, yes about Samael. I guess it was somewhat obvious. As for Nancy, she will learn self-defense but she will be more of a wizard type than anything.**

**AnimeFan0216 says: Oh so Lance's sister, Nancy is the author huh. Never saw that coming but if that is her power then she actually knows everything that happened and she just dismissed it as a dream.**

**But damn, she almost spoil the events that will happen to the future chapters. Hey Crimson, are you actually teasing us deliberately?**

**Yeah, you all saw that right. That vision. She can't completely see the future in one vision. She receives it in bits and pieces and has to make sense of them. She had hemophilia but Raphael cured her as she will be important. And yes, that fight scene was a teaser.**

**OenscherC says: Awesome update!**

**Thanks! I glad you enjoyed it.**

**emiya-excalibur says: Bikou how could you say that word in front of Lily?! You idiot monkey!**

**Nice twist with Nancy being a Prophet. When I read that part I for a moment I felt as if YOU are Nancy with her being a Self-Insert of sorts and in a weird meta sorta of you kind of are her.**

**I am her in a weird way. Originally, I wanted the author to be an actual character but as I mentioned before, I have a paranoia of being sued for using people as characters without their permission. I know the fear is irrational but still. Nancy evolved from being a background side character and into an amalgamation of all the hopes and dreams that I couldn't accomplish. So she is me in a sense. She's just my idealized self minus the powers and the fact that she's a girl. (I'm a guy)**

* * *

**I hope you all liked the chapter. The group finally received their Enochian Weapons and they meet Astaroth. As I mentioned before. updates will slow down as I have to focus on my studies. Nursing School woohoo! Asian parents too! I hope you guys can wait. Anyway, review/fav/follow if you like! And remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~**


	31. Absolute Zero

**Pyre: Okay, the reason you guys are getting this early was that I had this partially typed up along with the other chapter before the semester started so treat! Remember, updates are slowing down after this. I promise. I need to focus on school, work, and volunteer so wish me luck that some random psych patient doesn't grab me and turn my day into the movie Wrong Turn! So, without further ado, let us begin.**

**I still don't own Highschool DxD. Ichiei Ishibumi does. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Crete, Greece, 2:15 PM, March 20, 2020, 2 minutes and 40 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Vigne hovered across from her sister with her rapier pointed in her direction. Her face was hard, glaring at her older sister, who simply floated in the air with a small smile on her face. Astaroth then sighed and sheathed her blade. Surprised by her action, Vigne lowered her blade slightly.

Ddraig looked between the two and growled in Astaroth's direction.

"Sister, please step aside," Astaroth said.

"Huh? Why would I do that?" Vigne asked, tightening her grip on Lexida.

Astaroth chuckled a little before responding. "You're in the way of a battle between me and the Special Child," she said. Astaroth raised her hand and fired a telekinetic pulse towards Vigne and Ddraig. The two reacted almost immediately and shielded themselves, deflecting the pulse and creating a large shockwave that shook the island and the surrounding areas.

Astaroth appeared in front of Vigne and rapidly drew her sword. Vigne followed up her movements immediately by swinging Lexida into the air, knocking Astaroth off balance. Ddraig swung his fist, hitting Astaroth in the side and sending her crashing into the building below.

Ice hands sprung up from the ground and grabbed the two, restraining them. Astaroth burst from the rubble and created a massive ice cage around Vigne and Ddraig. Astaroth turned her gaze to Issei, who was readying himself for a battle. She grinned maniacally and appeared in front of Issei in a burst of speed. She thrust an ice lance towards him which he deflected with Ascalon. Issei channeled Miasma into his blade, igniting it in black flames and swung it at Astaroth.

The demoness was forced to dodge an arc of black flames that threatened to cut her in half. Her eyes widened when Issei appeared behind her and stabbed her through the back with Ascalon only for the blade to meet an ice shield that appeared.

Issei saw her grin before he was thrown back by an omnidirectional wave of energy. He crashed into a wall, destroying it and bringing the whole floor down on top of him.

Irina and the others watched as Astaroth battled Issei, tossing him around.

"We have to help Issei!" Irina said to the others. "**Heavenly Breaker: Code Seraphina!**"

The others followed her lead and charged towards Astaroth. Astaroth turned and saw all of them heading towards her and Issei with the intent of interrupting this entertaining fight she had found herself in. Astaroth's eyes narrowed in anger and she swiped her palm creating a massive wall of ice around her and Issei. A massive circular blizzard formed around the wall forcing Irina and the others to stop lest they get frozen.

"Issei!" Irina and Rossweisse screamed for him.

Astaroth smiled, satisfied that her battle won't get interrupted. Turning around, Astaroth's face met Issei's fist as it crashed into her shattering her jaw and nose. Astaroth crashed into the ice wall embedding her into it.

Issei hovered in his demonic form, holding Ascalon in his left hand and several blades of darkness floating behind him in a halo formation. Issei thrust his palm forward and the blades fired at Astaroth.

The cambion looked at the oncoming blades as her face slowly healed. She snapped her fingers and several ice blades formed and fired to meet Issei's darkness blades. Several explosions rocked the ice arena. Smoke obscured Issei's vision as he attempted to sense for Astaroth's miasma signature. He frantically looked around, covering all of his areas for an impending attack. Issei felt pain as he saw an ice lance go through his shoulder. He was sent hurtling back and pinned to the other side of the ice arena.

He looked in the direction the lance came from in pain and saw Astaroth standing there.

"I'm kind of disappointed Special Child. How did you kill Beelzebub if you can't even contend with me at your fullest form?" she asked. Astaroth flew over to Issei and leaned in closer to his face. Her ice-blue eyes stared into his flaming red ones.

"To be honest, it was a bit of trickery on our part. That and he was an arrogant piece of shit," Issei replied.

"Truer words have never been spoken," she said, throwing her head back in laughter.

"Another thing was that he underestimated us. Kind of like how you're doing right now," Issei said.

Astaroth raised her eyebrow at his words. Underestimate? Her eyes grew wide as she felt a lightning bolt strike her, sending her crashing to the ground.

Issei used grabbed the ice lance and ripped it out, crushing it in his hands. His wound began to heal as smoke poured from it. His magma like veins on his left hand glowed an eerie blue color as Tiamat's voice was heard.

**|Calamity|** she announced. Several miniature eruptions occurred around Astaroth's downed form, engulfing her in fire, magma, and smoke. Issei hovered over the smoke cloud. He raised Ascalon, using the flat of the blade to block a massive tail that was aimed in his direction.

Astaroth stood there with burns all over her body that were healing. Behind her was a massive serpentine dragon made of ice. The dragon roared as its yellow eyes stared, transfixed at Issei's demonic form.

"You're right… I have been holding back a little but that was merely to test your… capabilities," she said as the last of her burns healed. "I have to admit. You've pushed me a little far, much further than those pathetic gods. So I'll show you a glimpse of the true depth of my own power as a kindness. **Iaveis**, eviscerate him," she said, petting the ice dragon's snout, who had begun to nuzzle its master. The dragon huffed before turning on Issei and charging towards him.

Issei flew out of the way as Iaveis flew past him. The dragon quickly turned in mid-air and flapped its wings, creating a harsh icy wind that pushed Issei back.

Issei shielded himself from the icy tempest with his wings. He felt ice begin to form on them and quickly unleashed a wave of dark fire. Issei's wings began to glow as he directed the energy, forming a black and blue sphere of flames.

"**|Abyssal Fusion Flare!|**" Issei and Tiamat announced in unison. The black and blue ball of flames sped to the dragon, cutting a path across the blizzard. Astaroth, who was standing off to the side, channeled her Miasma to Iaveis.

"**Subzero Tempest!**" Upon hearing her words, Iaveis opened its maw and unleashed a massive azure of beam of cryogenic energy towards the flaming ball.

The sphere and the beam clashed in the air, neither giving way to the others as the two fought for dominance. Sparks of energy flew from their collision point destroying everything and bringing down some of the remaining buildings that had become trapped with them when Astaroth formed the arena.

Eventually, the attacks canceled each other out as a multicolored burst of energy burst outward. The explosion leveled the entire southern portion of Crete that they had occupied.

Outside the arena, Ingvild, Rossweisse, Georg, Kuisha, and Yubelluna all erected a multilayered barrier to prevent themselves from being engulfed in the explosion.

* * *

Artemis ran through the forests of Greece and fired off an arrow at a man's back. The arrow hit home as it pierced through the lungs and into his heart. The man fell and tumbled to the ground. The last thing his black eyes saw was Artemis driving her dagger into his throat.

Artemis sighed and wiped her blade. Her father had sent her to their old stomping grounds in Greece to take out all demons that have appeared in the area. Her lieutenant, Thalia, dropped down from the tree twirling her spear.

"I think that's all of them, Milady," she said. Artemis nodded but still felt uneasy about the whole thing. They had managed to keep fifty demons out of the city of Gerolimenas.

The earth suddenly shook as a massive wind knocked both Artemis and Thalia back and off their feet. The goddess looked up with a groan and jumped up to the canopy of the forest to get a better look. Her silver eyes grew wide when she saw a massive iridescent sphere of in the distance where Crete was.

Artemis hopped down to the forest floor and grabbed Thalia by the shoulders. The girl was surprised by her sudden actions.

"Mila-?"

"I'll explain later. Let's go," Artemis said as she and Thalia disappeared in a silver burst of light.

* * *

The explosion died down as everyone hovered in mid-air inside the barrier. The casters lowered the barrier and saw that the entire city of Ierapetra was gone along with most of the island of Crete. Below them, the Mediterranean Sea churned angrily as it swallowed up the remaining collapsing portions of southern Crete.

"Anyone see Issei!" Riser yelled. Everyone shook their heads. Irina's violet eyes scanned the raging seas and eventually saw Issei standing on a sea stack in the distance.

"Irina…" Rossweisse said getting her attention. Irina followed her gaze and saw what her turquoise eyes were looking at. Astaroth. The woman hovered high in the air with her right arm missing.

Astaroth grit her teeth as she grabbed the area where her right arm used to be. She had not escaped the explosion in time and saw her construct, Iaveis, become consumed by the multi-colored ball of fire. Smoke poured out of the wound and began to take shape. Bones formed before muscle and veins began to wrap around and cover it. Her ligaments and tendons grew back before skin formed covering them.

Issei collapsed to his knee on the sea stack. His demon form gave out as he returned to his base form. He was bleeding from his forehead. Several pieces of debris had struck him during the explosion. He was pretty sure his left arm was broken and that he had a few shattered ribs.

Astaroth slowly flew over to Issei's direction, beating her wings against the intense pain she felt. "I should've gone all out on you…," Astaroth said as she hovered a few feet from Issei. Her wounds were nearly healed while Issei's were just beginning to. She raised her hand to Issei as it became enveloped in a blue glow.

"**ANCALAGON!**" a voice called out as a massive eastern dragon made of pure lightning came down from the sky, barreling towards Astaroth. The cambion looked up with wide eyes and swung her hand upward. The waters of the Mediterranean responded to her will and swirled up, creating a shield before turning to ice. The dragon struck the ice, biting down upon it with immense force. Astaroth struggled to hold the dragon back as her shield began to crack.

Vigne appeared on the sea stack next to Issei and grabbed him, making a beeline for the destroyed coast of southern Crete.

Astaroth swung her blade, clearing the smoke and saw the massive figure of Ddraig heading towards her with flames inside his maw. He unleashed a torrent of crimson flames in her direction. Above her, the ice shield shattered and the dragon prepared to consume her inside its electrified jaws.

Having no choice, Astaroth brought her hands together at her chest and a translucent black and blue sphere formed inside it. Her eyes glowed as her power soared beyond that of Vigne and Ddraig momentarily. The sphere pulsed and expanded rapidly, encompassing the entire area.

"**Absolute Zero!**"

Time slowed down to speeds so slow that it might as well have been frozen. Astaroth collapsed to her knees, gasping. Absolute Zero was a technique she had developed over the course of a few decades. It was a technique that used her powers of ice to reduce the temperature to such levels, that time and space themselves slowed down to the point where it looked frozen.

She looked up and saw Ancalagon and Ddraig's Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames centimeters from her face.

"Next time… next time, I won't underestimate you, Little Dragon," Astaroth said as she was enveloped in a black and blue mist. The mist dissipated, leaving no trace that she was ever even there.

The sphere flickered and faded, causing Time to return to its normal speed. Ancalagon and Ddraig's Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames collided with each other, creating a loud explosion that split the Mediterranean Sea.

"Where did she go?" Ddraig said, looking around.

Vigne, who was busy healing a barely conscious Issei, looked up and extended her senses to encompass the entire Grecian Peninsula.

"She's no longer here. Astaroth left. She must have used Absolute Zero to slow down time and escape," Vigne said.

The others landed on the ground and ran over to Vigne and Ddraig.

"Issei!" Irina and Rossweisse ran over and saw Issei. He was covered in first-degree frostbites. His lip was bleeding while a jagged wound ran down the side of his face. His left arm hung limp as bruises began to form.

Vigne worked fast, ripping his shirt off and scanning his upper body with a diagnostic spell.

A burst of silver light alerted them as everyone drew their weapons and pointed them at the new arrivals.

"Artemis-sama?" Kiba said.

Artemis scanned the crowd and saw Vigne with an extremely injured Issei. Her silver eyes widened in horror as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Issei?..." she asked.

"This is bad," Vigne said, catching everyone's attention. "His Miasma is working on overdrive to heal his wounds but he expended so much of it in battle. We need to get him medical attention immediately."

She turned her gaze to Artemis.

"Get us to the Grigori immediately!"

Artemis nodded and created a large teleportation circle, teleporting them to the Grigori Headquarters.

* * *

**Grigori Headquarters, 4:45 PM**

* * *

Azazel was busy playing Smash Bros with Gabriel and losing. Badly. She had defeated him fifteen times in a row without losing a single stock as Zelda.

"Aww, come on! Father dammit!" Azazel raged as he chucked his Switch controller across the room. "How the hell are you so good, Aneue!"

Gabriel smiled slyly at her younger brother's frustrated face. "'Tis a secret I shall never tell you, Otouto chan~!" Gabriel said, flicking Azazel's nose.

His doors suddenly burst open, causing the two to look. Azazel's eyes widened in horror and panic as he ran over to Vigne, who was keeping Issei afloat with her telekinesis while healing him. Ddraig had dispelled and returned to the Boosted Gear where he and Tiamat worked inside Issei to heal his internal organs.

"What the hell happened!?" Azazel asked as he inspected Issei. Placing his hand on Issei's head, his violet eyes glowed as Issei's wounds began to knit themselves shut.

"Astaroth happened," Vigne said as she began to work on Issei's frostbite.

"Your sister did all this?" Azazel said as he snapped his fingers. Issei was teleported to a bed in his lab and was immediately hooked up. The EKG came to life as Issei's vital signs were displayed on the screen.

"She restrained me and Ddraig then challenged Issei to a fight. Her ice is extremely sturdy even for beings on mine and Ddraig's level of power," Vigne argued as she grabbed an IV pack and hooked it up. She took a needle and inserted it into Issei's right arm before connecting it to the IV pack.

"I need Gabriel," Azazel muttered.

"I'm here," she said, walking over to Issei's unconscious form.

Behind the doors, everyone watched as the three worked on Issei's injuries.

"While I'm not as good as Raphael when it comes to healing. I'm better than the others. From what I can see, Issei has a punctured lung. We need to fix that immediately," Gabriel said as she shoved her hand inside Issei's chest, phasing through his skin as if it weren't there.

"What are you doing? We need a needle!" Vigne said.

"I'm removing the excess air from his pleural space to relieve the pressure. After that, I'll heal his lung," Gabriel said as she focused on all the air molecules inside the lung. "There, got it," Gabriel pulled her hand out, holding a ball of air. She let go of it, dispelling the air.

She placed two fingers on Issei's chest and a high pitched whistle was heard. A light green flow covered Issei's upper abdomen as the lung healed and was restored to perfect condition.

Gabriel sighed in relief as she felt the lung fully heal. "He'll be unconscious for a few hours but he'll be fine.

"Thank Dad," Azazel said, snapping his fingers and healing his frostbite.

"I need a drink," Vigne said, leaving the room. Rossweisse and Irina immediately ran into the room after Vigne opened the door followed by Mitsuki and Eden Squad.

"Issei…" Irina said as she saw his healed, but unconscious form on the bed. She turned to Azazel, who sat down in a chair next to his bed. "Can't you wake him up?"

"I can but I won't. Issei needs his rest," he said.

Azazel created chairs for Eden Squad to sit on. They all sat there waiting for the person they all cherished to wake up.

_Issei groaned as he opened his eyes. He saw Ddraig, in his human form, sitting next to his prone form. He looked up and saw Tiamat, who was also in her human form, looking down at him with a relieved smile. He noticed that his head was on her lap. She smiled a motherly smile and stroked his hair softly._

"_Hey, did I miss anything?" he asked._

_Ddraig snorted before laughing. "Miss anything. Issei, you went toe to toe with a demon as strong as me, Albion, and Vigne and that's the first thing you ask?"_

"_Oh yeah, how did that go? Did we win?" he asked._

"_Unfortunately not. Astaroth escaped before we could capture her," Tiamat said. Issei sighed before he felt an intense pain on his cheek._

"_OWWWW!" he felt himself being pulled up to his feet by his cheek. _

"_Don't you ever worry me like that again! Are we clear __**whelp**__!?" Tiamat asked._

"_Yes! Yes! I won't ever do it again. Please let go of my cheek Tia-nee chan!" Issei begged._

_Tiamat let go of his cheek and hugged him tightly. Issei felt her tears, hitting his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the hug._

"_You really had us worried there for a second," Tiamat said between sobs._

"_I'm sorry I worried you and Ddraig, Tiamat," Issei apologized._

"_Just don't do it again, Partner," Ddraig said, joining in the hug._

_The three separated and Issei looked off into the distance of his soulscape. A massive shadow was seen moving ever so slowly towards them. With each day, the shadow gained more and more ground on his soul._

"_Eleven months…," he said as he stared at the mass of shadows._

_The two dragons looked between their host and the shadows sadly. Issei turned his gaze away and looked to Ddraig and Tiamat._

"_We need to start making preparations just in case," Issei said._

"_What do you want us to do?" Ddraig asked._

"_I need you two to look after someone. I'll have Nee-chan rip out Boosted Gear once she comes to kill me. I know she'll be the one to kill me. I can feel it," Issei said._

"_You want us to go with her!?" Tiamat bristled in anger at the implication of his words._

"_No… I want you to go with…"_

Irina sat by Issei's side, holding his hand while Rossweisse sat on the other. Gasper was sleeping on the couch while Kiba monitored the EKG. Ingvild and Mitsuki were sitting next to each other watching Issei's chest rise and fall. Artemis stood off to the side, watching Eden Squad look after Issei.

The doors opened and Kuroka rushed in and immediately appeared by Issei's side next to Rossweisse. Tears formed in her eyes as her vision drank in Issei's form. He looked fine for the most part but from what she had heard, Issei had been covered in frostbite, broke a few ribs and his arm, and had a punctured lung. Gabriel and Azazel had managed to heal it all.

"How long has he been out?" Kuroka asked as she stroked Issei's hair.

"A few hours," Irina said.

Issei's hazel eyes snapped open as he sat up in bed. His sudden action startled all the occupants in the room as they all rushed the help Issei calm down. Issei scanned the area and saw that he was in Azazel's lab and no longer in Crete. He felt a mass of people hugging him tightly.

"Guys! Let me breathe!" Issei squeezed out. Upon hearing his words, they all let go. Issei looked out and saw Artemis standing among his friends.

"Artemis-sama, it's nice to see you again!" Issei said, smiling at her.

Artemis blushed as she looked at his smile. She looked away at huffed. "Y-Yeah, it's nice to see you again too," she muttered. Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka looked at her with a suspicious gaze. They had seen that look on Murayama too. Were they…?

The doors opened again and a silver bullet launched itself at Issei. Issei felt a pair of slender arms wrap around him and his face shoved into a pair of large breasts. Grayfia crushed Issei in a powerful embrace. Behind her, Sirzechs, Millicas, and Lily stared at the sight with slight amusement.

"Aneue! I can't breathe!" Issei's muffled voice could be heard.

"Grayfia, you're suffocating him," Azrael said, walking into the room followed by Risa. Grayfia let go and saw Issei taking in large gulps of air. She then remembered why she was here and immediately grabbed Issei's cheek and began to pull.

"OWWW! WHY DOES EVERYONE GO FOR THE CHEEKS!" Issei said as Grayfia tightened her grip and pulled even harder.

"What were you thinking!? Fighting a demon like her all by yourself! You're lucky to have made it out alive! Did you know she defeated three gods and killed one of those three alongside a small army!? What do you have to say for yourself!?" Grayfia yelled, glaring at Issei.

"She trapped me inside an arena with her and restrained Vigne and Ddraig! I couldn't run from her," Issei answered. Grayfia let go of his cheek and hugged him tightly again.

"Issei…," he turned his gaze to Sirzechs and Azrael. "While it was a stupid thing to fight Astaroth by yourself, you had no choice in the matter and the fact that you managed to injure a Knight of Hell to such a degree is no small feat," Azrael said with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Rest up, Issei. Let us take it from here," Sirzechs said. He motioned for Grayfia and the three turned to leave the room.

"Wait!" Issei's voice made them freeze as they left the room. "Why are they in Greece? I know they want to enter Cocytus but what do they want in Cocytus that's so important to them?"

"Yes, I would like to know as well. Father never told me," Artemis said.

Azrael looked at Sirzechs. He merely sighed and nodded. She turned her obsidian eyes back towards them.

"Samael. We think they want Samael," she said.

**[The Dragon Eater. Why him?]** Ddraig made his presence known.

"For the war of course. A deterrent against Ophis and Great Red to not interfere," Azrael said. "With me and my siblings still recovering our strength, Ophis and Great Red is the greatest threat to Lilith's army."

"So they want to break him out?" Rossweisse asked.

"Yes. Don't worry. All of the pantheons pitched in. It was a close vote but the death of Ammon has motivated the Celestial Council to guard the Doors of Tartarus. Serafall and Diehauser are there right now," Sirzechs said.

"That's a relief. With all of those gods guarding the doors, Lilith won't be able to breach it," Kiba said

Issei just looked down gripping his sheets. The entire world had been slowly breaking down over the course of a month. And those were just attacks by small demons. Now, Lilith sent out her Knight onto the field. Half of northern Africa is encased in ice and Crete is now partially destroyed. What would happen if Lilith herself decided to enter the battlefield rather than just sit back and move her pieces into position? Issei shuddered at the thought.

"Don't get your hopes up," Azrael said, snapping Issei out of his reverie and catching everyone else's attention. "Lilith isn't stupid. She will find a way to breach those doors, army or no army. She's a demonic supergenius, slated to take over the rule of Hell from our older sister if she wants to retire."

Everyone looked down at the ground, thinking over Azrael's words.

"Look, you guys get some rest. While you were out, demonic activity has ceased to a minimum so you can all relax and let us handle the rest okay?" Sirzechs said.

They all nodded and the three left the room.

* * *

**Hoia Baciu Forest, Romania, 4:45 PM**

* * *

Astaroth appeared in a swirl of black smoke that expelled a large wave of force that flattened all the surrounding trees. Hopping to her feet, she limped her way to the center of the forest. The Hoia Baciu Forest Center was unlike any other natural formation. It was a perfect circle. Humans believed this forest to be a hotspot for dark forces. Had they not said that hundreds of years ago, they would have been right.

Demons flew in a circle above the sky, their combined presence creating a large storm above the forest. Astaroth walked to the very center and saw two children playing patty cake. As soon as they sensed her presence, they stopped and slowly turned their heads in sync. The sclera turned black and their blue eyes glowed.

"Astaroth," the male child said. "A little birdy told me that you nearly got your ass handed to you by a child."

"Set aside Valac," Astaroth growled.

"Whoa there Ice Queen, no need to get testy," the female child said, raising her hands in surrender.

"Just open the damn portal, Marchosias," she said.

Marchosias gathered miasma into her left hand and slammed her palm into the ground. Enochian runes spread from her palm across the ground and a large set of double doors rose.

"Enjoy your trip to the Eighth Circle!" Marchosias said as Astaroth walked through the doors.

As she made it to the other side, she found herself in a barren wasteland, save for a couple of forests that dotted the infinite realm where the Ziz resided. Several storm clouds made their way across the sky and lightning cascaded, barraging the land.

Astaroth spread her midnight black wings and took off. Her destination was the massive volcano the loomed in the distance. The volcano was massive, standing at a height of 120 kilometers and was 1040 kilometers in diameter. Its crater was 100 miles across and magma flowed endlessly from it. Smoke billowed upward covering the skies in the areas surrounding the volcano. There was a perpetual rain of ash and Kilns ran across the lands, drinking from the lava lakes and attacking any demons unfortunate enough to get surrounded by the pack.

As she neared the caldera, she spotted the great capital of Hell, Grixis. It was a large city built in the middle of the caldera, above the lake of fire that was often described in Biblical myth. Grixis was a city comprised of several massive homes and buildings. It appeared like the major cities on Earth with roads, transits, and stores, At the very center of it all was a fortress-like castle. The central tower was gargantuan, standing at a height of around 5000 feet tall. The tower's heigh made it appear as if it were challenging God to strike it down.

Astaroth flew to the central tower and landed at its base. The two guards at the entrance bowed to her and opened the doors.

As she entered, Astaroth was intercepted by a white-haired man clad in white robes. His multicolored eyes held a glint of sadistic glee inside of them as he grinned insanely at her.

"Welcome, Astarte. Princess Lilith has been awaiting your arrival," he said, giggling. His eyes roamed her figure and noticed the way she was carrying herself.

"Oh, an injury. Has the mighty Knight of Hell finally been brought down to her knees?" he asked.

The man was suddenly pinned to the wall by an ice spike. Astaroth appeared in front of him with her blade pressed against his throat. He gulped as he stared into her hateful blue eyes.

"Hey now… no need to get rough. At least, take me out to dinner first," he said. Astaroth growled and dug the blade deeper into his neck, drawing blood and causing the wound to flicker.

"That's enough! Astaroth, release him," a voice said. Astaroth huffed and withdrew the blade from the man's neck.

"Words cannot express my gratitude to you, my Princ-!" the man was interrupted by Lilith, whose cold gaze turned to him. Her stare sent the fear of Lucifer into his soul as he cowered before her.

"Alastor, get back to work if you have nothing better to do," she commanded.

"Yes, milady," Alastor was covered in a black mist and vanished.

"Princess-"

"You fought him," Lilith said, interrupting her sentence.

Astaroth looked down, quaking in fear at what Lilith may do to her. The last person that made her angry that week ended up as a pile of dust in the throne room.

"Yes, milady. I let my battle lust get the better of me and challenged the boy to a fight. Please, find it in your kind heart to forgive me, Mistress," Astaroth said.

"Don't worry, my dear Knight. I would never harm you," Lilith said, causing Astaroth to look up at her smiling face. "Go rest. We'll move on the Doors in a few months."

Astaroth nodded and saluted her before leaving the room. After she left, Lilith walked back to her office and stood looking out at the window. Her mind drifted to her family.

"You're doing this for them," she muttered to herself as she stared out into the barren wasteland of the Eighth Circle.

* * *

Issei was resting in his bed, sleeping peacefully and dreaming of a life where he, Irina, Kuroka, and Rossweisse were married.

_Their children ran around playing in the park. The scene suddenly changed and Issei found himself in the same park except everything was in ruins. The bodies of Irina, Kuroka, Rossweisse, his sister, Kiba, and Gasper lay broken and strewn across the park. The moon and skies were painted red like blood. The stars no longer shined as darkness dominated what seemed like all of Creation. But the thing that stood before Issei made his blood run cold and his heart nearly stop in its tracks. Before him, stood _**_it_**.

_The dragon. The very same that haunted his dreams since the very beginning of this entire thing towered above Issei, the red moonlight reflecting off its black and red scales. It's large leathery wings slowly spread blocking out the light of the moon, plunging Issei and his surroundings into darkness. Issei stared in terror at its large glowing red eyes as its three heads slowly bent down and examined him closely. The dragon suddenly burst into black and crimson flames. The flames swirled and condensed into a female humanoid shape with twelve flaming wings. The figure walked over to Issei, each step leaving a burnt footprint. It reached its hand up towards Issei's face, causing him to flinch. Issei closed his eyes but felt only a warm hand petting his head. He opened his eyes and felt nothing. He felt warm. Safe. Like nothing horrible would ever happen to him._

_The figure looked at Issei and saw the image of a young woman with soft brown tea-colored hair and hazel eyes. The woman's figure was slender yet curvy in the right areas. She wore white robes with gold accents. The figure's memories came to the forefront of her mind._

"_Onee-chan! C'mon! Stop being slow!" the woman said as she ran ahead with a silver dagger._

_The figure snapped back to reality as she saw the figure of the woman smile warmly at her. The woman faded leaving only a fearful Issei in her place._

"_Imouto," the figure said, causing Issei to open his eyes in confusion._

"_Imouto?" he asked. A little sister? He felt sorry for whoever was this thing's sister._

_The figure let go and raised its hand, flicking Issei in the forehead sending him out of his dream world._

* * *

Issei shot out of bed in a cold sweat. He looked at his alarm clock.

_9:30 PM, April 2, 2020_

Wait, his alarm clock? Issei's eyes scanned the surroundings and saw that he was back in his room. His door opened to reveal Rossweisse, carrying in some food. Rossweisse looked up and saw Issei awake.

"Oh, you woke up. Azrael-sama brought us home and teleported you to your bed. You slept for two weeks. Apparently, your body went into hibernation to recover the Miasma that it spent in battle and healing you," she said, sitting down. She scooped up some noodles and brought it up to Issei.

"Say 'Ahhh'," Rossweisse said. Issei opened his mouth and allowed himself to be fed. After swallowing the noodles, Issei felt for the others. They were all here except for one person. Irina.

"Two weeks? Wait, where's Irina?" Issei asked.

Rossweisse shrugged. "She said she had to take care of something," she answered. Issei nodded and resumed being fed by Rossweisse.

* * *

**Kuoh Town, 10:00 PM**

* * *

Irina stood at a crossroads on the side of town that was still under development. Construction had gone home so everything was empty. Her mind flew back to her conversation with the people at Blacklight.

_Irina walked into the library at the American Blacklight Headquarters expecting to see Thoth manning the desk like usual. Instead, she saw someone else. A woman with midnight black hair sat at the desk. She had large breasts and her most noticeable feature were the two large gold-looking horns protruding from the sides of her head and pointing upwards. Upon her head is a white band which separates her hair, framing her bangs from her hair below the band. Worn upon her forehead is a small circular symbol with a small dot on the inside and surrounded by several dots around the top. Tied around her neck is a small white-colored strap. Her attire consisted of a very revealing blue-colored leopard-printed kimono, bearing the decorative marks on her shoulders. The kimono is wrapped around her torso with a thick, decorative yellow ribbon that ties behind her back, and her outfit is complemented by thigh-high socks that reveal her heels and toes_

_The woman looked up at her. "Can I help you?" she asked. Irina stiffened upon feeling her energy. Miasma. That meant that she was a demon. Irina drew Hauteclere but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Lisa._

"_Don't," she said. "Dantalion, I'm sorry for her. She doesn't have a good history with demons," Lisa apologized._

_Dantalion waved off her apology. "It's alright. Most people don't anyway," she said. Dantalion turned her gaze back to Irina. "My name is Dantalion. Thoth is currently with his pantheon right now so I'm in charge of the library," she said._

_Irina nodded hesitantly but then her features lit up. Asking a demon would be perfect._

"_Hey, Dantalion-san, you know about deals right being a demon and all," Irina asked._

_Dantalion nodded and motioned for her to get on with it._

"_Do you happen to know how to break one?" she asked._

_Dantalion raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"_

"_I need to break my boyfriend's deal," Irina said._

"_Okay…, here's what you need to do," Dantalion began to explain._

Irina finished burying the lockbox filled with her ID, a bone of a black cat, milk from a black cow, and a vial with a lock of Issei's hair. A strong gust blew through the entire area. For others, it might have felt normal. After all, it was spring. A chill breeze like this was common. However, Irina knew that this breeze was anything but normal. It carried malice and greed inside of it. The feeling made her sick to her soul. How could someone be so rotten?

"Oh, an Angel. Never had one of you before," a female voice caused Irina to turn around.

A woman with brown hair and red eyes wearing a black dress appeared in the crossroads.

"So, what's today's deal gonna be?" she asked. Irina summoned Hauteclere and pointed it at the demon.

"Oh, so it's going to be like that, is it? Guess I'm leaving then," she said. The demon tried to teleport out but found that she couldn't. She looked down and saw Enochian Runes drawn in a circle around her into the concrete.

"Tch! What do you want?" she asked, turning back to Irina.

"You're the demon who made the deal with Issei Hyoudou, correct?" Irina asked. The demon nodded with pride.

"Yup! Never thought I'd get such a high profile soul," she said. "Boosted my reputation in Hell!"

"Break it off. Issei's deal. And no funny business. I'm the one pulling the strings here. Mitsuki lives. Issei lives. You live," Irina said, walking up to her. Hauteclere glinted menacingly in the dim street light, causing beads of sweat to appear on the demon's forehead.

"Sorry Feathers but we have a strict no return policy," the demon said, fighting through the fear she was currently feeling.

"Then take mine," Irina immediately answered offering her own.

"Nope. His deal is locked down tighter than a nun's… well, you get the picture," she smirked.

Irina snapped and slashed her in the torso with Hauteclere.

"GAAAAHHHHH!" the woman screamed in unimaginable agony as her wound began to burn and she felt her soul being cut into, causing the wound to flicker an orange color.

"I dipped Hauteclere in Holy Water. I was told it was one of the few Holy Objects that actually worked on you guys," Irina said as she raised Hauteclere and swung it. This time, she severed the demon's right hand.

The demoness squirmed in agony as she screamed her lungs out. Irina continued her grisly work and stabbed it through her leg and began to twist the blade. Her wings began to flicker indicating she was about to fall.

"PLEASE STOP!" Irina pulled Hauteclere out of the demon's leg just seconds before she could completely fall. Irina's wings reverted to their snow-white color.

"I- I can't break the deal. It was handed off to someone else! Please, you have to believe me!" the demon said, confessing everything to Irina.

Irina leveled Hauteclere at the demon's throat. "_WHO HOLDS THE DEAL!?_" Irina snarled.

"Lilith! Princess Lilith does!" the demon yelped. Irina's heart dropped at her words. Lilith holds Issei's deal. How the frick were they going to get Issei out now?

"I told you. Now, let me go," the demon said. Irina complied and slashed one of the rune's destabilizing the circle. "Pleasure," the demon said as she turned around. Her eyes widened when she felt the most intense pain. She looked down and saw Hauteclere sticking out of her chest. Her entire body spasmed as she glowed with flickering orange light. The demon fell limp on Irina's blade. Irina pulled the blade out and sat down on the pavement.

"Damnit," she said as tears began to stream down her face.

* * *

**Omake: A meeting between the Unholy Empress of Destiny and the White Dragon Emperor**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, April 25, 2018**

* * *

Issei opened the door to his house and lead Vali inside. The half-devil whistled. It was a nice house.

**[I don't feel comfortable letting the White One into your home]** Ddraig said.

"_Eh, what's the worst that could happen? Besides, temporary truce and the dude's homeless at the moment and Nee-chan always said, 'Help people in need',"_ Issei said.

"So, the food's over there and you need a shower. The bathroom is upstairs on the second floor on the right and your room is right across from that," Issei said. He looked at his watch. "Listen, I gotta go. Akeno is waiting for me for our date. Who knows? I might get some oppai today! See ya!" Issei dashed out the door, leaving Vali inside the house.

**{I never say this enough, but I'm glad that you aren't a pervert Vali}**, Albion said. Vali merely nodded and made his way upstairs to his room. He took off all his clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way to the bathroom. Everyone was out of the house so Vali didn't have to worry about someone seeing him nude.

"I'm going to enjoy this. It's been days since I've had a nice shower what with the treaty and all that," Vali said as he opened the door. His eyes shot out of their sockets and his jaw dropped upon entering the room.

There was a girl. A naked girl! She had long brown hair and hazel eyes. Her figure was slender with larger than average breasts and a nice bubble butt. The girl looked at Vali and blinked a few times before her face turned red.

"W- Wh- Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here!?" the girl screamed and grabbed a towel, covering herself.

"I-Issei said there was no one home!" Vali said. "Who the fuck are you!?"

"I'm his twin sister, Mitsuki!" she screamed back. Her mind went through a sudden realization. "You saw everything didn't you…" she said in a low, menacing tone.

"W-What? Saw what? I didn't see your perfect ass or anythin-"

Mitsuki charged at him, her fist coated in Taint. She summoned Telos Karma and altered probability so that her attack wouldn't miss.

"You fucking pervert!" she screamed, punching Vali in the face and sending him through the roof of the house. Vali streaked across the sky with a happy smile on his face.

"Yup, she's the one!" he said as he disappeared into the sky.

Mitsuki huffed before powering down. She went to get dressed and her mind flew back to their encounter.

_He saw it. He saw everything and I saw his… his…,_ her mind raced through a slew of extremely, graphic, and dirty thoughts (that I, the author, cannot describe for fear of getting my account banned and this story deleted) she never knew she had. Eventually, the thoughts were too much for her virgin mind as she shut down and fell on her bed. Her eyes had hearts in them which pulsated a pink color. A trickle of blood fell out of her nose.

_He was really handsome…,_ she thought. _Maybe I'll ask Aniki who he is tomorrow._

And so, Mitsuki went to sleep that evening, dreaming of a certain silver-haired descendant of Lucifer never knowing that in the room next to hers, the new object of her affections was doing the same.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**None this time! **

**Anyway, that's it for this chapter! Sooo, yandere Irina... Well not really, she just wants to break Issei's deal. Also, Issei had that dream again. The one with the dragon only this time, things were different. And who is Imouto!? Also, I hope you guys liked the fight. I personally enjoyed writing it myself. It was fun to choreograph. I hope you liked the omake. Credit to the person who gave me this idea. Thank you Just A Bad Writer For Fun for this amazing idea! Remember, if you liked it, review/fav/follow! Have a great day/night or not the choice is yours!~**


	32. Two Become One

**Sooooo, new chapter. Let's go-**

**This chapter has the thing people have been asking for since they saw the M-Rated tag on this story so stick around for that. I do hope you all enjoy it! Another thing in this chapter is the reintroduction of everyone's favorite vampire. Also, I've decided to replace Murayama with Ingvild. Because I have more to work with if I put Ingvild in the pairing than I do Murayam as she is a supporting character and not a protagonist so, sorry people who wanted Murayama. Woohoo... I'll just let you read this.**

**Irina: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town, April 15, 2020, 5:16 PM, Current Time: 2 minutes and 38 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Kuroka and Irina walked down the aisles of the grocery store with Vali and Rossweisse behind them. The two looked extremely bored as the two women ahead of them chatted about cake flavors and what kinds of food to cook for Issei and Mitsuki's eighteenth birthday. The two were grabbing different ingredients and putting them into the cart. Rossweisse was still recovering from the embarrassment earlier that day when the three went lingerie shopping. Her bra had fallen off and the entire store had seen her modesty. She ran back into the fitting room and refused to come out for the next three hours. After a while, Irina and Kuroka had managed to coax her out of her hidey-hole and continue their day.

While they were shopping, Mitsuki and Issei had been whisked away by Azazel and Azrael on a little trip. What the trip entailed, the rest of them didn't know but they knew that the two were taken to Kyoto for the day. School was out because of some mandatory teacher training that all the English teachers had to attend so it was either go club or go home and waste the day away.

"Hey, Rossweisse, what about chocolate cake for Issei and white chocolate for Mitsuki," Kuroka asked.

Rossweisse looked at her with a bored expression and shrugged. "Sure," she said. Kuroka turned to Vali and held up the boxes, looking at him expectantly.

"Umm, yeah, Mitsuki loves white chocolate," Vali said.

Kuroka narrowed her eyes at the two before putting the ingredients in the cart. "Can't you two be more enthusiastic?"

"Well, we could have stayed home and looked for more gifts but you two dragged us out here. I understand why Rossweisse but why me?" he said.

"Because your girlfriend is turning eighteen and you can't be bothered to go buy cake?" Kuroka said accusingly.

"What? No! I was making her something!" he fired back.

Kuroka raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "What were you making?"

"A necklace with Hephaestus's help," he said. Kuroka nodded, satisfied by his answer.

"Stop harassing the two Kuroka. Vali, go grab a watermelon and Rossweisse pick out some cuts," Irina said as she grabbed some chocolate chips.

"You want…," Rossweisse began.

"Get some fish, salmon or tuna. For the meat, grab some sirloin as well as some pork belly," Irina said, reading her list. "And some chicken breast!" she said as Rossweisse began walking over to the meats.

"I wonder what Issei and Mitsuki are up to," Irina said to herself.

"Most likely being smothered by Amaterasu-sama," Kuroka said as she began to pick out some candles. Irina shook her head at the Sun Goddess's antics.

* * *

**Kyoto, Same Time**

* * *

Issei sat there with Kunou sitting happily on his lap. The little kitsune was happily purring as Issei rubbed her ears. Her nine bushy tails swayed behind her. Mitsuki grabbed one of the tails and began to stroke them, sending further waves of pleasure to the little kit.

Yasaka sat across from them, smiling happily. Over to her right, Amatsu-Mikaboshi was sipping her tea while talking to Azazel and Azrael about recent developments in the war. During the conversation, the Shinto Creator Goddess's ruby eyes turned to Issei before quickly turning back to the two Archangels.

"How long does he have?" she whispered, making sure Kunou wouldn't hear her.

"Ten months," Azrael said.

"Can't you two break it?" she asked them.

"No, our sister is reinforcing this deal. We'd have to confront her directly and she's cloaking herself and the demons from our senses," Azazel said.

"It's hard to believe that Lilith of all people would want to destroy everything. She wanted so badly to keep everyone else out of the Holy War all those years ago. Why would she do this?" Mikaboshi asked them.

"We don't know. Her mind is locked down tighter than anything I've ever seen before. I can only surmise that Lucifer is blocking us out as well," he said. Mikaboshi closed her fan and looked into her tea.

"I'm going to have a hard time dealing with this. Lilith was my best friend you know," Mikaboshi said. "I was her maid of honor at hers and Hephaestus's wedding. I'm Harmonia's godmother."

"We know. She's our niece. Imagine how hard it is for us," Azrael said. "How hard it is for Issei to fight the woman who he sees as his older sister."

Issei looked over to the two Archangels and Elder God. He had heard everything they said. Despite not showing it, Issei had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Lilith was his enemy. He had adored and idolized her as he grew up even after she left. Lilith was Issei's hero and to see that his hero was his enemy really put a dampener on his world view.

"Issei," he looked down and saw Kunou's big worried golden orbs looking at him. Her ears twitched as she asked her question. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Issei said as he ruffled her hair.

"So, Issei-san, Mitsuki-san, can I trust you two to look after my daughter when she arrives in Kuoh?" Yasaka asked as she sipped her tea.

"Of course, Yasaka-sama. Kunou-hime will be well looked after in Kuoh. We will ensure her protection, so you do not need to send a guard since the Nibi No Bakeneko is there as well," Mitsuki said to her.

"Thank you for this. Kunou has been wanting to go to Kuoh ever since you all came here. She really looks up to you," Yasaka said.

"Eh? It's really no problem, Yasaka-sama," Issei said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ne Issei-chan," a sing-song voice called from his left. The blue-haired goddess stared deep into Issei's eyes as her green eyes shined with mischief and mirth. "I heard from Tsuki-chan that when she went to the Lunar Deities Convention, Jade Rabbit-chan said that Arty-chan likes you! How do you feel about having the most die-hard virgin on the planet going after your di-MMMMPPPPHHHH!" Amaterasu was interrupted by Susanoo arriving on time to hear his sister's words. He clasped his hand around her mouth to prevent her from saying more. He looked at Issei with his onyx black eye and said.

"Don't mind Aneue. She's a bit crazy," Susanoo said as he sat down next to them with his hand still on her mouth. Amaterasu glared at him. She opened her mouth and bit down. Hard. Susanoo wrenched his hand and glared at his older sister.

"What was that for you crazy bitch!?" he said, as his power parted his hair, revealing his left eye. Susanoo's left eye was violet with concentric rings running all over his sclera. Six tomoe populated to two rings closest to his pupil.

Amaterasu glared at him even harder as black flames began to form around her.

"Don't call me a bitch you jerk!" she said, pouting.

"You bit me!" he yelled back.

As the two argued, an unholy pressure came down on the two of them. They mechanically turned their heads to see Amatsu-Mikaboshi's hair floating and splitting into nine black tails while her eyes glowed red.

"Calm down," she said. Her words were enough to get peeps of acknowledgment out of the two as they sat down.

"Seriously you two... No wonder Izanagi and Izanami sent you out of Takamagahara and Yomi," Mikaboshi said in an exasperated tone. She turned back to her conversation with Azazel and Azrael, continuing their discussion of the demons. This time, everyone else listened and pitched in.

"Where do you think they're based in, Obaa-sama?" Amaterasu asked.

"Romania. Judging from the paths they leave," Mikaboshi said.

"We've narrowed it down to one country, but the vampire families aren't letting anyone in. Have either of you two gotten in touch with Issa Shuzen?" Azrael asked.

Susanoo shook his head. "Other vampires in Japan have said that he left for Romania to get the European Families to see reason. It seems that Beelzebub kidnapping his daughter's mate from right under his nose has… shaken him."

"I see. We need to tighten down defenses here in Japan. Make sure that there are guards stationed at and enchantments woven into every port of entry. Airports, docks, the Yomotsu Hirasaka, the Amenominaka, the Bifrost Terminal we put up, the entrance to Takamagahara, everything. I want all-day surveillance. Nothing gets in or out without me knowing about it. Tell my idiot children the same thing as well. Ameno, Takami, and Kami have been slacking off as of late. They forget who they're up against," Amatsu-Mikaboshi told them.

Amaterasu and Susanoo nodded.

"We'll assist you as well," Issei said.

"No," Mikaboshi said, shaking her head. "You focus on staying alive. In ten months, the woman you call Nee-chan will lay waste to Japan to kill you. Of that, I have no doubt."

Issei stiffened and gulped while Mitsuki narrowed her eyes at the August Star. "How can you be so certain?"

"Because Lilith has never missed a kill. Not then. Not now."

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, April 16, 2020, 3:25 PM**

* * *

"I can't believe they forgot," Mitsuki said, grumbling in her seat as Issei drove down the country roads outside of Kuoh. Her hazel eyes narrowed at the thought of Vali blowing her off earlier that day. "When I see that silver-haired bastard, I'm going to cut his dick off with a spoon!"

Issei tried not to cower as his sister ranted next to him. She was releasing the most potent killing intent on the entire planet. He kept his focus on the road and not his sister's increasingly vivid description of how she was going to neuter Vali and shove his genitals up his anus while making him eat his own testicles.

"Maybe, he's going to surprise you?" Issei asked, trying to placate his sister.

"He better," she muttered. Issei tried to think of ways to calm his sister down when a brilliant idea came to mind.

"Wanna go play DDR?" he asked.

She shrugged as Issei suddenly made a U-Turn and drove back to Kuoh. They arrived at the arcade ten minutes later and went inside. Mitsuki's eyes widened when she saw the new high score for DDR.

"Nuh uh. Nope, Mama's takin her score back!" she said, running to the machine. As she danced, a crowd slowly gathered around her as she began to rapidly approach the new high score. Within five beats, she had beaten it and set a new one, several hundred thousand points above the old one. After she finished, Mitsuki dusted herself off and walked back to Issei.

"So, wanna give it a go?" she asked.

"Nah, let's go," Issei said, walking out the door. The two walked out and back to Issei's car. As Issei was about to enter the driver's seat, Mitsuki called for his attention.

"Ne, Aniki! Can I drive?" she asked.

"No," Issei said, causing her to pout. Issei chuckled a little before raising his pointer and middle fingers and poked her on the forehead. Mitsuki's eyes widened as her hand slowly reached up and touched the place where he had poked her.

"Sorry, Mitsuki! Maybe next time," Issei said, starting the car. Mitsuki nodded mutely before climbing into the passenger's seat.

The two began a leisurely car ride across Kuoh Town, chatting about their lives. There was one thing the two avoided talking about like the plague and that was Issei's deal. The thought of Issei's death and how it seemed to be permanent this time did not make the two feel easy. No Ophis and Great Red. No Evil Pieces. Issei's phone vibrated, causing Mitsuki to pick it up.

"Who is it?"

"Vali…"

"Answer it," he said. Mitsuki sighed and answered it, albeit begrudgingly.

"_Hey!"_

"You better have a good explanation for forgetting my birthday," she practically snarled into the phone.

Issei snorted in laughter when he heard Vali squeak in fear.

"_I- I'll explain just come to the Manor_," he said. Mitsuki nodded.

"Okay, be there in a few," she said, hanging up.

"I guess we're going home then," Issei said, taking a turn that leads back to their house.

* * *

Upon pulling up to the gates of the manor, Issei pressed the remote, opening them. He drove up the driveway and parked the car inside the garage. His instincts went on overdrive when he couldn't clearly sense anyone's signatures.

"Mitsuki…," Issei said, summoning the Boosted Gear. Mitsuki immediately followed his lead and summoned Telos Karma, having felt the same signatures. The two nodded at each other, before kicking the door open.

"SURPRI-! OWWW!" Bikou howled in pain as Issei decked him in the face. Everyone else was forced to duck as Mitsuki sent a repulsive wind into the living room, tearing apart some of the decorations.

The twins blinked upon seeing everyone and the state of their house. Bikou was on the floor, clutching his nose in pain and everyone had shielded up and around themselves and the food.

"Wha-?" was their intelligent response to the situation.

"Let's try that again, okay? We'll go back outside," Issei said, slowly backing out of the house.

"Yeah," Mitsuki said, leaving and slowly shutting the door.

Everyone sighed at the twins' actions after the two left and began to cast several spells to repair all of the broken decorations.

"At least they didn't destroy the cake, nya~," Kuroka said as she put the banner up. Rossweisse shook her head at her words as she healed Bikou's nose. After everyone finished, Irina clapped her hands, getting everyone's attention.

"Let's try this again!"

* * *

Outside, Issei and Mitsuki sat on the doorstep of the house. Mitsuki laid down with her head on her brother's lap, staring at the sky. Issei zoned out, completely bored. Ddraig and Tiamat were sleeping inside the gear and told Issei to wake them up once the party had started.

The two looked over when they heard a knock on the other side of the door. Mitsuki and Issei got up and slowly opened the door.

"SURPRISE!" the two were covered in confetti. A pie flew from the back and hit Issei in the face. Everyone turned to see Bikou whistling innocently as he slowly inched away from the food table.

"I probably deserved that," Issei said, wiping pie off his face.

The party went off without a hitch after the second run. Everyone had fun, eating food and spending time. Many important figures had arrived after the surprise such as the Greco-Roman Gods and their children, the Four Satans, the other Archangels, and even Zekram Bael. Many of the lords of the other pantheons had gone and tried to offer females up to Issei, to which he politely refused.

Issei looked out over the party and saw his sister and Vali dancing together on the floor. As he listened to Rudianos go on and on about how he should align his team with the efforts of the council, he sensed a familiar presence on the top floor of the house. Excusing himself, Issei left the room immediately and quickly climbed the stairs. After arriving on the topmost floor, he saw someone standing on the balcony. He recognized her due to her long flowing white hair.

"Onee-chan…," Issei said as he hesitantly approached her. Lilith turned around and her piercing blue eyes lit up at the sight of Issei.

"Issei-chan," she walked over and enveloped him in a tight hug. Issei froze but hugged her back. Lilith pulled away as if sensing his hesitation.

"You don't have to be afraid. It's your birthday. It's the one day we won't be enemies. Besides, isn't an older sister allowed to visit her younger brother?" Lilith asked him.

"They are…," Issei said after a few moments.

Lilith sighed in exasperation. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you."

"Not yet at least," he muttered under his breath. "Is my birthday the reason you came here with all these deities crawling around my house?"

"Yeah," she said, leaning back on the railing. "So, three girls and two more coming up huh?"

Issei blushed and sputtered at her words. Seeing his embarrassment as a green light, Lilith continued.

"I never knew that the boy I used to play with and look after all those years ago would turn out to be such a lady's man," she said in a sly tone. "So, have you done it?"

"NO!" he yelled, his face cherry red. He did not need to have this conversation with any of his sisters. Lilith laughed boisterously at Issei's expression. Issei glared but it was ruined by the red on his cheeks and the pout on his face. Lilith calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry… it... was too good to pass up," Lilith said, between giggles. Her face suddenly turned serious. "I came to help you with your little love quest."

Issei raised an eyebrow at her words. "What do you mean?"

"Since you are a cambion, you need to perform the mating rituals that demons and angels undergo when they meet their life partner or in your case, partners," Lilith said.

"Mating ritual?"

"Yes. Let me explain. When demons and angels find a mate that they will dedicate themselves to, they create a Bond of sorts. It involves you injecting your mate with your Miasma during sexual intercourse or if you're an angel, back when they could, your Grace," Lilith explained. Issei nodded.

"So, I need to have sex with them for the first time and inject them with my essen- Wow that sounds so wrong," Issei said.

"It's only wrong if you make it wrong. Anyway, bonded mates can sense each other's life force. You've seen Hephaestus's white lock of hair, right? That's a side effect of our bonding. Bonded pairs receive more carnal pleasure during sex than they would from someone else. Like one hundred times more. A bonded female cannot be impregnated by another male and a bonded male cannot impregnate another female," she said.

"Anything else?" Issei asked. Lilith began to think for a moment before her face lit up.

"Right. In order to initiate a Bond, both parties must be willing and be in genuine love, meaning that the recipient must accept. You cannot force the bond on someone as they can refuse," she said.

"Thanks?"

"No problem. It's my birthday present to you," Lilith said, smiling warmly.

"Really?" Issei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Here," Lilith said, waving her hand. Two ice cream cones, one strawberry, and the other, cookies and cream. Issei's favorite flavor. Lilith handed Issei his ice cream to which he accepted with great confusion.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"You forgot, didn't you?" she said.

"Forgot what?"

"I promised to get you some ice cream the next time we met," Lilith said, licking her cone.

Issei's eyes widened at her words.

_She remembers_, he thought as he watched his older sister eat ice cream.

"Not gonna eat," Lilith asked, noticing he hadn't touched his cone yet. She grew concerned when tears began to fall down Issei's face. She immediately walked over and grabbed the ice cream, storing them in a dimensional pocket.

"Issei-chan, are you alright?" she asked.

"Onee-chan…," Issei said while crying. Lilith began to fret, checking him over. As she did, Issei hugged Lilith tightly, surprising the demoness.

"Please stop this! I don't want to fight you Nee-chan! Please come home!" Issei said, sobbing into her sweater.

"Issei…," Lilith said. She began to rub his back in a comforting manner. "There, there, Otouto-chan. Let it all out," she said soothingly as Issei's tears caused her sweater to become wet. After a few minutes, Issei pulled away.

"I'm sorry for getting your sweater wet, Nee-chan," Issei said.

"It's alright," she said. The two froze when they sensed someone coming upstairs.

"Issei!" It was Kuroka. Her footsteps grew louder as she neared the entrance to the balcony.

"Well, it looks like I have to go," Lilith said as she walked to the edge of the balcony.

Issei looked at Lilith as she turned her back. It was nice seeing her again and truly reuniting with her. For a moment, just for a single moment, they weren't enemies. It was just an older sister teaching her little brother about the entire world.

"Nee-chan, wait, you still have m-" Issei felt Lilith poke his forehead. He stared at her as she smiled at him warmly. A light black mist began to surround her. Before she fully disappeared into the swirling black mass, he heard her say words that he thought he'd never hear from her.

"Maybe next time."

Issei stood there for the next few minutes staring at the spot where Lilith stood. He smiled at her antics.

"She never even let me finish my ice cream," Issei said. The door opened, causing Issei to turn around. There bathed in the light of the moon was Kuroka looking at him.

"Issei, we've been looking everywhere for you. It's time to blow out your candle," she said.

"Oh right. I just needed fresh air is all," he said, lying to her. Kuroka raised an eyebrow in suspicion but accepted his excuse.

"Well, c'mon then," Kuroka ran over and grabbed Issei's arm. "Let's go," she said with a bright smile. Kuroka led Issei downstairs where he saw Mitsuki and the others waiting for him. He walked over and stood next to his twin. In front of them was a large layered cake with two candles on it in the shapes of the numbers 1 and 8.

"Alright, everyone. One. Two. And Happy Birthday to you!" Irina began,

"Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, dear Issei and Mitsuki!

Happy Birthday to you!" everyone sang.

Issei and Mitsuki sent each other glances before leaning forward and blowing out the candles in perfect sync. After the candle flames died out, everyone cheered. Their parents took pictures of the two and with the two. Eden Squad and Vali Team walked over and took a group picture with the two twins, followed by Bael Peerage, Sitri Peerage, and Gremory Peerage. Issei forced a smile to his face as he stood next to the other girls at the ORC. After the pictures, Issei and Mitsuki were the first to cut the cake and both grabbed a large piece.

"So, what's your wish?" Bikou asked him, eating his cake. Everyone around him looked up at his words. Mitsuki stopped talking to Vali and looked at her twin.

"I can't say, or it won't come true," Issei said. " And besides, my wish already came true," he said, looking out over his friends.

The party went on for a few more hours before everyone began to leave. The last guests left at 12:45 AM, leaving Eden Squad and Vali Team as the last ones there. Issei's parents had passed out from the drinking with the various deities (they didn't know they were deities), causing the twins to bring their parents to their room.

Kuroka saw this as the perfect opportunity to spring hers, Irina's, and Rossweisse's plan into action. After Issei and Mitsuki came downstairs, Kuroka immediately walked over to him and grabbed his arm.

"Woah, Kuroka wait!" Issei protested as she began to drag him back up the stairs.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Mitsuki asked.

"We're giving Issei his present!" Kuroka said without looking back at her.

"We?"

"She means us," Mitsuki turned and saw Irina and Rossweisse following the two with red faces.

"Word of advice…, sleep with noise-canceling headphones on," Rossweisse warned her as she followed a nervous Irina up the stairs. Odin knew she wasn't feeling the same way as well.

"Okay?" Mitsuki said as she walked back to the others for a game of Monopoly.

* * *

Issei was confused when Kuroka dragged him to the Ero Room and forced him to sit down on the bed. The door opened to reveal an extremely nervous Irina and Rossweisse. His confusion grew when he heard Kuroka stutter out her next sentence.

"W-Wait h-here Issei-kun! We'll be back!" she said. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, Issei saw the nervousness in her eyes. The three girls quickly walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

_Okay, what do they have planned_? Issei thought.

**[Maybe they want to fu-OW!]** Ddraig yelped in pain as Tiamat smacked him with her tail.

**|Don't worry whelp. Whatever it is, we want no part of it. Tell us when you're done|** Tiamat said, severing the mental link between herself and Ddraig and Issei.

"_Huh! What do you mean by…_" Issei's thoughts froze when he saw the three girls come out of the bathroom. His jaw dropped when he saw what they were wearing.

Kuroka was wearing a black raunchy lacy bra along with black underwear that was nearly transparent. The panties fit tightly around her ass, emphasizing her curvy hips. Her bra struggled to keep in her large breasts from bouncing out for Issei to see.

Next, to her, Rossweisse wore a silver, semi-transparent negligee. She covered the areas of her chest and crotch, causing Issei to guess that she wore nothing underneath.

And finally, Irina. She wore a white bra and a white panty with a small lacy skirt over it. The attire itself was as lewd as Rossweisse and Kuroka's despite being conservative. Like Kuroka, the bra seemed to be a few cup sizes too small for her, making Issei think that they bought smaller sizes on purpose.

Issei felt his cock slowly become hard as he stared at the two. He swallowed his spit as he began to ask.

"So, why are you three dressed like that?" he asked.

"This is our birthday gift to you. Our virginities," Rossweisse said as she fidgeted nervously.

Issei was floored. They wanted to give him their virginities as a birthday present! Wait, that means that…

"Okay," was all Issei managed to get out. The three's eyes shimmered with happiness as they walked over to him and one by one kissed him deeply. Rossweisse, who was the last person to kiss him, began to remove all of Issei's clothes as they slowly began to make out. Irina and Kuroka fumbled to pull down Issei's pants and saw a large bulge in his boxers.

"Whoa…," Kuroka said as gingerly touched the bulge, causing Issei to moan. She pulled the boxers down, allowing her and Irina to see Issei's cock in all its glory. His dick was at least eight inches long and began to throb painfully as Irina wrapped her fingers around it. She began to move earning her moans of pleasure from Issei, who had just finished making out with Rossweisse.

"Does it feel good, Issei?" Irina asked. Issei nodded, prompting Irina to continue.

Rossweisse knelt down next to them, watching Irina jerk Issei off.

Irina tentatively looked at the head of Issei's dick and gave it a small lick. Her action caused Issei to moan even more.

"Irina, do more," Issei practically begged. She nodded and slowly took him into her mouth, stopping halfway.

Issei was practically a mess as he felt her warm mouth wrap around him. He looked down and saw Kuroka and Rossweisse positioned at the sides of his shaft. The two began to lick along the side while Irina sucked on the other half. It didn't take long for Issei to crumble under the combined efforts of the three.

"I- Irina! Kuroka! Rossweisse!" Issei said, causing the three to increase their efforts. Irina began to suck faster while Rossweisse made her licks longer, using her whole tongue this time and Kuroka began to suck on Issei's balls.

"Girls, I'm… I'm cumming!" Issei said as he gripped Irina's head forcing his entire dick into her throat. Irina's eyes widened as she felt Issei unload himself inside her throat. Several jets of semen flowed down into her stomach before Issei finally pulled out. I

Irina sat on the ground, coughing. She wiped her mouth clean of the spit and semen. Honestly, in her opinion, it tasted okay. Salty, but it had a distinct flavor that belonged solely to Issei.

Issei panted as he sat on the bed. He looked over and saw the girls begin to take their underwear off, revealing their full selves to him. His dick slowly became hard again as he saw them.

"Oppai…," Issei said, reverting to his old perverted self.

"Who gets to go first?" Kuroka asked.

"Irina. She was here before us. It's only right she gets to go first," Rossweisse said.

Irina nodded nervously as she walked over to Issei. She sat on top of him and crashed her lips into his. Their tongues clashed for dominance. Issei reached up and cupped her breast and massaged them gently, causing her to moan.

Eventually, Issei relented and let her explore his mouth, moaning as her tongue practically tasted every nook and cranny of his mouth.

His hands slowly made their way down and grabbed Irina's ass as the two rolled onto the bed, still lip locked. After a few more minutes, Issei and Irina separated for air, a trail of saliva still connecting them together.

Issei looked down at the angelic goddess in front of him with eyes filled with love and some lust. Her breasts weren't as big as Kuroka's, but they were perfect for him. Her pink nipples were hard from arousal and Issei had felt a liquid running down his legs while they made out. He was going to do it. He was going to make her his for she belonged to him and him to her.

"Are you ready?" Issei asked nervously as he positioned himself at her entrance.

"Y-yes. Please be gentle," she said. Issei nodded and slowly inserted himself into her. In one quick thrust, broke past her chastity. Irina hugged Issei tightly, digging her nails into his back leaving scarlet trails. Small tears fell from her eye at the pain of her chastity being broken.

Issei immediately planted his lips on her own, kissing her gently to make the pain go away. After a few seconds, Irina spoke up.

"Y-You can start moving now," she half-asked, half-commanded. Issei nodded and began to slowly move in and out of her. Irina began to moan in pleasure as her walls tightened around Issei's cock, making her feel every inch, every vein, every detail of Issei's dick.

"Faster, Issei, please go faster," she mewled in pleasure.

Issei nodded grunting more fervently as he increased his pace. The soft, warm, wet feeling of her tight angelic hole was driving him crazy. In other words, Irina had fit him perfectly.

Issei looked down and saw Irina's happy face and her breasts swaying erotically with every thrust he made. He massaged her tits, and gently pinched her stiff nipples.

"Does that feel good?" Issei asked as he kept massaging them.

"Y-Yes, keep going," Irina moaned. This had felt better than anything she had done to herself whenever she masturbated.

Soon, the sounds of flesh hitting flesh could be heard as Issei bent down and kissed her while beginning to move faster and faster and faster. He pulled away as he looked down at Irina.

"Irina, I'm about to-!"

"It's okay. Do it inside me. I'm not on my period. I want to feel you, Issei!"

"Let's do it together!"

"Ahnnnn!" she moaned as Issei's thrusts grew faster and faster.

"Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! ISSEI!" Irina moaned his name louder and louder.

"IRINA!" Issei moaned loudly as he thrust himself deep into her, emptying his load inside her, shooting thick ropes of cum inside her womb.

Irina wrapped her legs around Issei keeping him there as pleasure flowed through her body from feeling his thick warm cum fill her up, her pussy squirting her liquids all over Issei's thick cock. Her halo and wings appeared from the intense pleasure she was feeling at the moment.

"I love you Issei," Irina said as she looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you too, Irina," Issei said. The two kissed one last time with Issei passing a small amount of his Miasma through, bonding them together. What he didn't know was that Irina had done the same, passing her Grace onto him.

Issei pulled his nearly flaccid cock out of her, causing a trail of semen to slowly flow out of her wet pussy.

"Wow, Issei-kun came a lot inside me," Irina said as she slowly sat up on the bed, feeling the cum flow out of her.

"Who's next?" Issei asked, turning around.

Rossweisse nervously stepped forward. She crawled onto the bed and pushed Issei down on the bed. Rossweisse wanted the insertion part to be over. She had heard and seen that it hurt a lot. Seeing that Issei's cock was nearly limp, she wrapped her hand around it and began to stroke, making it slowly go hard. Rossweisse decided to go with a position she had seen while _researching_. She reached down and grabbed it, positioning herself above it. Love juices dripped down from her pussy as she slowly lowered herself down onto it. In one fluid motion, she impaled herself on Issei's cock, sending waves of pain and pleasure through her body.

Due to the lubrication it had from the earlier session, Issei's dick slipped easily into her pussy. Like with Irina, Issei reached over with his hand and wiped the tears of Rossweisse's face.

"Are you okay?"

"Y- yeah."

After a few seconds, she looked down at her lover. Issei nodded and Rossweisse began to slowly move up and down bouncing on Issei's hips.

After a few seconds, Rossweisse began to moan lightly, increasing the speed of her bouncing.

Her large round breasts bounced up and down hypnotically, causing Issei to reach up and grab one.

Rossweisse moaned as Issei began to massage her breasts. She moaned even louder in approval when Issei pinched her stiff pink nipple.

"Issei," she moaned out as she began to move faster.

At this point, Issei couldn't help it anymore and began to thrust his hips upward as she bounced, creating a rhythm.

The sounds of their hips colliding and flesh slapping against each other were heard across the room.

"Does it feel good for you Issei?" Rossweisse moaned out as she kept up her pace.

"Rossweisse, you feel so good," Issei groaned as she bent down and kissed him.

The two separated as Rossweisse began to rapidly move her large ass up and down, bouncing on Issei's rock hard dick.

Issei felt her pussy grip him tighter and tighter as juices flowed from her, further staining the sheets with their love.

"Shit, Rossweisse! I'm gonna-!"

"Me too. Let's do it together!"

"ROSSWEISSE!"

"ISSEI!"

Issei grabbed her hips thrust upward into Rossweisse, causing her to throw her head back and releasing another wave of cum. Thick streams of cum began to fill up her womb. The two stayed like that for a few seconds before Rossweisse slowly got off, with her pussy dripping cum onto the sheets. The two shared a kiss with Issei transferring his Miasma into her. Rossweisse sensed Issei slip in some of his energy, which she accepted but at the same time was confused by it.

"Best for last, nya~," Kuroka said. While she did watch an extensive number of _videos_ in preparation for this day, Kuroka was still nervous but also excited.

"P-Please be gentle Issei," she said as she laid down and pulled Issei on top of her.

"Y-Yeah, of course," he said. The two shared a kiss before Issei pulled away. He looked down and saw her moist aroused pussy, leaking out a some of her juices, beckoning him to stick his dick in. Issei swallowed before pressing his cock at the entrance of Kuroka's vagina.

"Are you ready?" Issei asked as he did with the other girls.

"Y-yeah, just tell me when you're going to… you know," she said. Issei nodded as he inserted more of his cock into her before doing one powerful thrust that broke through Kuroka's hymen. She gripped the sheets as a wave of pain emanated from her lower half.

"Kuroka, are you okay? Do you want me to pull out?" Issei asked in worry.

"N-NO! I'm okay. You can start now," she gasped out.

Issei nodded as he begins to move. Of all the girls, Kuroka was easily the warmest. While Rossweisse was tighter than the three, Kuroka's pussy was warmer than the others. The heat combined with the wetness and her tight grip made it Heaven for Issei as he slowly found himself moving faster and faster.

Kuroka began to moan lightly as she felt him pound her harder and harder.

"Issei~," she moaned as he kept grunting in pleasure with each thrust. Her tails began to move erratically.

"Kuroka," he moaned out. He grabbed one of her large, bountiful breasts in his right hand and began to grope them as he thrust faster into her.

"Issei!" she cried out in pleasure.

Seeing her moan and cry out in ecstasy, Issei had the brilliant idea of grabbing one of her swaying tails. He caught one in his hand and began to stroke it.

"Issei!" Kuroka yelped when she saw him grab her tail.

"How does this feel?" Issei asked as he kept up his pistoning actions.

"Keep doing i- Nyaaaa~" she mewled in pleasure as she felt Issei stroke her tail more.

Kuroka's grip around Issei's dick grew tighter. Her pussy began to secrete more juices. The sloppy, wet sounds of Issei moving in and out of her were soon heard.

"More~," Kuroka said as she gripped the sheets tightly. Issei kept up his work on her breasts and tail.

Kuroka wrapped her legs around Issei's hips, causing his cock to go deeper inside her, eventually kissing her womb with each thrust.

Eventually, Issei reached his limit as he felt his load begin to build up.

"Issei, I'm going to-!"

"Me too!"

"Issei!"

"Kuroka!" Issei performed one last powerful thrust, gripping her hips as he buried his cock as deeply as he could inside her. Kuroka's legs gripped him tighter, keeping him there.

"Nyaaa~," Kuroka moaned in pleasure as semen flowed into her waiting womb, filling her uterus. Issei bent down and kissed Kuroka, passing on his Miasma to her, which she managed to sense despite her haze. She accepted it nonetheless and kissed him back with equal fervor.

Issei pulled out and laid down in between the three girls. All four of them were sweaty from their activity and tired.

"T- That... was great," Issei panted out.

"Yeah, it was," Irina said as she laid her head down on top of him.

"Let's get some rest," Rossweisse said as she began to slowly slip away into sleep.

Issei and Irina turned to see Kuroka had already fallen asleep on Issei's side, semen still dripping from her pussy.

Issei smiled and pulled the covers over the four of them before falling asleep.

* * *

**Romania, April 21, 2020, 3:00 AM**

* * *

Lilith stepped out of the portal and onto the Circle of the Hoia Baciu Forest. Before her, Gremory and Sitri stood ready and waiting alongside Astaroth and another blue-haired demon. She had white skin which looked like ivory. Her hair was bluish green which sparkled in the sunlight. Her hair was pulled back into a braid of three thick strands and draped. She wears bangles with a massive gem on both hands. The demoness wore a white high collared short dress that exposed her shoulders. Above them, she wore a leather corset along with leather vambraces, a black waist cape, and leather boots.

"Milady, we are honored to have you here," Gremory said, bowing.

Lilith nodded before walking over to their prisoner. He had pale skin, black hair, short pointy ears, and two fangs. He wore noblemen's clothing and his red eyes reeked of fear and slight arrogance.

"Do you know who I am! I am a vampire of the House Manth-" he felt a crushing grip his heart. The grip tightened and he began to experience the most intense chest pain. The vampire coughed and blood began to seep out of his mouth. He looked up to meet the glowing red eyes of Lilith looking down at him.

"Tell me. Where are the vampire clans meeting?" she asked.

"Go to- AGGHHHHHHHH!" he screamed as Lilith created a blade made of pure darkness and shoved it into his knee.

"Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to tell me where the vampire clans are meeting because frankly, they've been an annoyance to my operation here in Europe by declaring war on me. So, tell me and I'll let you go, or don't and I'll pop your knee off, deal?" she asked, twisting the knife.

"Okay! Okay!"

Lilith snapped her fingers and the other blue-haired demoness handed her a map.

"Mark it," she said, holding up the map. She put the bloody knife in his mouth and he used the blood to mark the location on the map.

"Good," Lilith said, examining the map. She turned to the demon that handed her the map.

"Hahaha," the vampire laughed while she examined the map. Astaroth leveled her sword at his throat, causing him to go silent.

"What's so funny?" she snarled.

"Your Princess thinks she can take them on. Every vampire lord is at that meeting. Including Akasha Bloodriver, and her strength is on par with the Dragon Kings!" the vampire said smiling. Lilith stopped reading the map and turned the vampire. Her blue eyes changed color and took on a red hue. Her beautiful face adorned a cruel smile.

"Well, I guess I do have to pay them a visit now, won't I?" she said, grabbing the vampire's face. Lilith let go and took a small step back.

"Phenex, kill him," she ordered. Phenex nodded.

"No, wai-!" he never finished his sentence before Phenex raised her hand and unleashed a torrent of azure flames, incinerating him and reducing his body to nothing, not even ash.

"Astaroth. You're in charge while I'm gone," Lilith ordered. Astaroth nodded.

"Gremory, Sitri, Phenex. On me," Lilith said as she sprouted a massive pair of black demonic wings. She took off, creating a large gust of wind. Once in the air, Lilith beat her massive wings, disappearing instantly. Gremory, Sitri, and Phenex followed suit, tracing her energy to a single location.

Transylvania.

* * *

**Transylvania, 4:00 AM**

* * *

Valerie sat there, watching the vampire lords and elders argue over what to do about the demon incursion on their continent. The argument became heated when Issa Shuzen and Akasha Bloodriver arrived. Many of the vampire lords who advocated staying away from the demons for the time being sided with the Japanese Vampire Lords while the others such as the Tepes and Carmilla Clans sided with an all-out war of extermination against them.

"We cannot allow them to stay here any longer! These demons have been running amok in our territory and eliminating our food supply!" Lord Tepes argued.

"Yes, we know but we cannot afford to go to war with such beings! Did you not hear of what happened at the Rating Games? A demon invaded and singlehandedly defeated Baraqiel and Indra at the same time as well as all Four Satans," a man with silver hair and red eyes fired back. "Did you not forget that my daughter's mate was overpowered by them easily!?"

"Well then, Moka must have chosen a weak one if he allowed himself to be defeated by such inferior beings, Issa," a woman with white-blonde hair and yellow eyes said. She had an air of superiority around her as she looked down on Issa.

Next, to Valerie, she heard someone growl. She turned to see a vampiress wearing a green school uniform with a yellow and green plaid skirt. Her eyes were red, and her hair was silver and ended in pink tips.

"Moka, calm down," Tsukune said.

"Tch," she said as she looked away.

"Honestly, don't let Queen Carmilla rile you up Moka. She's spouting airs," another vampiress with a doll-like appearance with long wavy light blonde hair, deep red eyes, and a beautiful face similar to that of a Western doll. She also had a pale skin tone similar to that of a corpse. Her red dress was similar to the ones worn by princesses back in the Middle Ages, with an ornamented head-dress.

"Elmenhilde is right. Carmilla and my brother are merely trying to gain more support for their war effort. You and your mate are being used as an example that the opposing side is seen as weak blood among vampires," Valerie said. Her pink-red eyes turned back to the arguing vampires when she felt immense pressure coming from the stands. There seated next to Issa was a woman who was the near spitting image of Moka. Her hair was light pink, and her eyes were emerald green. She had pale white skin and wore a frilly black jacket with a long black knee-length skirt. Her green eyes glowed ominously as a black and red aura of power surrounded her. She was Akasha Bloodriver, the current most powerful vampire alive. A vampire whose power equals that of the Dragon Kings and Yasaka.

"I will not stand by and have you blatantly insult my daughter in my presence," Akasha said as the pressure slammed into Queen Carmilla, who began to fear for her life despite her composed expression. "Here me. As one of the Three Great Dark Lords, I hereby declare that no move be made against the demons until I can acquire the assistance of the Celestial Council!" her powerful voice traveled across the entire room.

The other houses protested, the most vocal being House Tepes and House Carmilla at her decision.

"We don't need the Gods to assist us!"

"We can kill all the demons ourselves!"

"You've betrayed your pride in our race, you disgusting woman!"

Akasha glared at the arguing crowd and prepared to silence them when she felt the most intense fear she had ever felt in her entire life course through her. The feeling kept getting stronger and stronger until, suddenly, she threw her hands forward, erecting a massive violet barrier around all the vampires present.

The other lords became confused after seeing the barrier go up.

"Akasha, what are yo-" Issa never finished his sentence as a large flash of violet light engulfed everything. The ground shook as the entire manor and the land surrounding it was ripped apart in a thunderous explosion. The shockwaves traveled creating tremors throughout the country of Romania as people ran for cover, thinking that an earthquake had just occurred.

Valerie stood up shakily in the aftermath of the blast. The entire mansion had been completely leveled with only the room they were in being the only part intact thanks to Akasha's quick thinking.

"Hahaue!" she turned to see Moka and Tsukune kneeling next to Akasha, who had collapsed to her knees and was breathing hard.

"So, it wasn't a lie after all. You do possess God Class power."

Valerie froze along with all the other vampires at the sound of the voice. The voice exuded power and sent fear running down their spines, freezing them all in place. Valerie slowly turned her head to face the source of the voice.

There floating in the air was a woman wearing a white sweater with a long red overcoat. She wore a black knee-length skirt, black leggings, and brown boots. Her long waist-length hair swayed gently in the Romanian wind, and her ice-blue eyes looked down at them, piercing through their very souls. She had a pair of large bat-like wings, bigger than any wing she had ever seen before.

"You bitch!" Tsukune growled, spotting the familiar faces of Sitri and Gremory.

Gremory's eyes looked down and she smiled a sadistic smile upon seeing Tsukune.

"Hello boy, how are your parents?" she asked. Tsukune snapped and made to attack her but was held back by Moka, who glared at the demon.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Lord Tepes asked.

"I am Lilith, Princess of Hell. I'm here because of your continued interference in my people's goal here in Europe," she said.

"You're a demon then?" Issa asked her.

"Yes," she replied. Lilith continued to speak. "Your fellow lords decided it would be a good idea to kill off a group of scouts I sent to scout the locations in Greece. They even had the gall to send back heads with warnings carved into their skulls. So, I've come here to return the favor. You know what they say right? An eye for an eye."

"You know you're outnumbered right?" Queen Carmilla said, earning chuckles from the other vampire lords.

"Run…," the lords turned to see Akasha looking at Lilith with terror present in her eyes. "RUN!"

"I see one of you has some survival instincts after all," Lilith said. She disappeared from view, causing all the vampires to go on high alert.

"Anyone see-" the lord of House Manthar's head was severed from his body as Lilith appeared behind him. Their collective eyes widened.

Lilith turned her predatory gaze on them as a smile made its way onto her face. "Come now. I was told that this was where the world's most powerful vampires met. Was that all a lie?" she said, raising her hand, telekinetically lifting five other vampire lords into the air.

At her words and actions, the remaining lords all charged at her, causing her smile to grow wider. She snapped her fingers, making the vampire lords trapped in her psychic grip to explode into a shower of bloody mist.

Lilith blocked the first lord with one finger and parried another. She then grabbed both their heads and slammed them together with such force that their skulls shattered upon impact, sending blood, skull fragments, and brain matter everywhere.

Lilith then sidestepped dodging yet another vampire. She retaliated by shoving her fist through the vampiress' stomach and then pulling her fist back out along with the woman's esophagus.

As Issa watched Lilith effortlessly slaughter the vampire lords, he handed Akasha to Moka. "Moka listen to me! Take your mother and run!" he ordered.

"But Chichiue-" she was cut off before she could protest.

"NO! We'll hold Lilith off! Just run! Valerie, Tsukune, Elmenhilde, grab Moka and Akasha and get out of here!" the three nodded and grabbed the now unconscious Akasha and a struggling Moka.

"Let me go!" as Elmenhilde and Valerie formed a teleportation circle with one destination in mind. Hyoudou Manor.

Issa sighed in relief as he saw his daughter and wife disappear in a flash of light.

"ISSA! Help m-!"

He turned in time to see a screaming Lord Tepes being silenced as Lilith stomped on his skull, crushing it like a grape.

Lilith turned her gaze onto Issa, pinning him to his spot. He had felt the power she had. It was like gazing into an abyss. He couldn't see an end to it. His mind when sensing her power had been assaulted with every possible terror his subconscious could create and threw it at him. He backpedaled as she walked toward him, and eventually had his back against the wall.

Lilith bent down and face him. If he wasn't absolutely stricken with terror, he would have taken the time to appreciate her unearthly beauty. He flinched as her hand reached up and gripped his face.

"I'm not going to kill you…," she said, causing him to sigh in relief. "I need you to be my messenger to that pathetic council of yours as well as the rest of the supernatural world. Do not try to get in my way. Are we clear?"

"C- Crystal!" he stuttered out.

"Good. However, I need something that will drive the message home," Lilith said, snapping her fingers. Gremory and Sitri dragged a beaten Carmilla to their location with Phenex in tow. Lilith held her hand out and the two demons handed the vampiress to her.

"L-Let go of me!" Carmilla yelled, struggling against Lilith's iron grip. Lilith ignored the vampiress' struggling and poured her miasma into her. A violet light engulfed Carmilla's face, forcing Issa to cover his eyes due to its intensity. After the light died down, Issa's eyes widened in horror as Carmilla's burnt out eye sockets stared back at him.

In one swift, fluid motion, Lilith ripped Carmilla's head off with the spinal cord still attached and tossed it onto Issa's lap. Issa looked down, eyes wide in perpetual horror, not even noticing Lilith lay her fingers on his forehead and teleporting him out.

"Milady, not to question your intentions but why did you leave one alive?" Phenex asked as she stood behind Lilith alongside her siblings.

"Carmilla and the Vampire Lords' deaths will do one of two things. Unite them or divide them. With the state of the council right now, I'm betting on the latter outcome," Lilith said, walking past her.

"I see," she said, following after seeing her takeoff.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 10:00 AM**

* * *

Issei yawned as he walked downstairs followed by Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka. Last night had been the best night of his life and he couldn't be any happier. He had created a Bond with them as per Lilith's instructions. After grabbing a drink of water, Issei noticed that everyone else in the living room were all glaring at him and the girls.

"Umm, good morning?" he said.

Mitsuki glared at her twin as she tiredly rubbed her eyes. "You couldn't do it quietly could you," she said. Issei laughed a little as he rubbed the back of his head.

"At least we know they're satisfied," Ingvild yawned, noticing that the three girls were walking with a slight limp.

"Any saucy details to share?" Bikou asked with a slightly perverted grin.

"No," Kuroka said with a deadpan stare. Her mind flew back and suddenly remembered what happened.

"Issei, why did you transfer your Miasma to us?" Kuroka asked him. Issei froze at her words and began to think of a way to explain to them. As his mind ran through explanations, he found one that was acceptable.

"Hephaestus told me about how when he and Nee-chan got married, Nee-chan created a bond between them," Issei said. "Angels and Demons do it to the ones who they will dedicate themselves too."

"Like marriage?" Rossweisse asked as her face slowly began to turn red. Issei nodded and everyone's, except for Irina, jaws dropped.

"W- W- Me- Issei- Married," Rossweisse said as she gripped her red cheeks. Kuroka had shut down at the revelation of what happened before booting up again. She walked over to Issei and kissed him passionately, surprising him.

"I pledge my body and soul to you, my beloved husband~," Kuroka said with a beautiful smile on her face.

While Kuroka was practically smothering Issei with her love, Rossweisse noticed that Irina wasn't at all shocked by the information.

"Irina, did you-?"

"Know? Yeah, Raphael-sama told me about the ritual when he figured out I was giving Issei my chastity. I transferred my own Grace to him, bonding us together forever," Irina said.

"What does this bond entail exactly?" Vali asked as he chugged his coffee.

"Basically, we can sense the other's life forces. No other person can ever sexually satisfy us again. I can't impregnate other females and Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka can't be impregnated by other males and we receive one hundred times more sexual pleasure from our partners than from others," Issei said. Vali nodded.

As the groups ate breakfast, a bright flash of light appeared in the living room, causing them all to rush out ready to confront the intruder.

On the broken table were Tsukune, Valerie, Elmenhilde, and two others the group didn't recognize. They sported various injuries and looked like they had seen better days. Valerie noticed them almost immediately.

"Get Asia! Now!" Valerie commanded. Gasper nodded and ran to find the Nun.

"What happened?" Issei asked. Rossweisse knelt down next to them and began to cast a minor healing spell alongside Ingvild, Le Fay, and Irina.

"Demons. They attacked the Gathering of the Lords," Tsukune said as he nursed his arm.

"Why?"

"To kill us," the silver and pink-haired vampiress answered.

"Moka," Elmenhilde said, calming her down. "Lilith wanted us out of the way because the heads of House Tepes and Carmilla killed a group of demon scouts that were making their way to Greece. It wasn't the first time this happened."

"How many are left?" Kiba asked her.

"We don't know," Elmenhilde said as she allowed Irina to heal her.

The sound of wings caught their attention as they turned to see Risa appear in the living room.

"We need to go! And bring them with you!" she ordered.

"Wait? Where?" Arthur asked her.

"The Celestial Council."

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 888**

**File Name: The Bond**

**File: The Bond is a special connection that can be formed between an angel or a demon and their mates. A Bond is formed when the angel/demon passes their Grace/Miasma on during sexual intercourse, bonding it to their partner's soul. In order for a Bond to occur, the two must be in genuine love with each other and must be ready to accept as afterward, the two will no longer be able to experience anything beyond platonic or familial love for others, even after the death of their bonded mate, making their life a living hell without them. Thus Bonded pairs are extremely protective of each other. Due to the ****genuine love requirement****, the Bond cannot be forcefully initiated if the other person is not willing. The Bond cannot also be pushed if there is lust present within the recipient's minds. Many demons have tried to force the Bond upon sex slaves only to fail repeatedly. Aspects of the Bond include:**

**Being able to sense each other's life forces and emotions.**

**Increased Sexual Pleasure between the Bonded Pair. Due to this, Bonded pairs can no longer be sexually satisfied by anyone who is not their bonded partner.**

**Bonded Females cannot be impregnated by other males.**

**Bonded Males cannot impregnate other females.**

**The Bond can have side effects as seen in Hephaestus with his one lock of white hair. **

**Notes:**

**Dantalion: Issei Hyoudou is the currently only known male to have more than one Bonded mate.**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**AnimeFan0216: We know that Irina is frustrated but she should have not killed the poor demon who was only doing her damn job. Well what is done is done. And the first meeting of Lucifer and Issei in the dream, despite of her terrifying appearance she made Issei felt safe there. What a sweet mother she is by waking him with a flick to the forehead.**

**The omake is the best in this section. So this is the first meeting of Vali and Mitsuki huh. A lucky pervert scene.**

**Yeah, Irina is... pissed. I'm glad you liked the omake section! And yes, Lucifer is a good mother, isn't she. And in regards to your PM, yes, Issei looks like Eve. That's who the little sister was.**

**Scrumblenut: Well, I didn't get the message for the last chapter actually... which isn't the first time. Oh well. The way I read that dream, is in a darker, more sinister way... betrayal... though it might not be intentional. So we know Issei has a life debt, but what if there is more to it than that? Could he be controlled due to it? I don't know. It's either that, The First Born... or something much, much worse. But as usual, this is simply my opinion. Loved the last two chapters, well written and extremely entertaining. I appreciate the return of my usual ending sentence as well. Take care.**

**Thanks and I'm sorry FFNET's messaging site seems to be wonky. I've had trouble getting notifications myself. As for the dream, I didn't mean to make it look dark. There is more to the Deal than I'm letting on. I actually said everything about the deal at the end of the First Season but coded it all in Enochian. It's the same for Lucifer's whereabouts.**

**leader dbz: The Omake was the Absolute Best. Hahaha**

**Sorry if I forgot the period in your name. FFNET doesn't let me save anything remotely link related. Thanks! Credit goes to Just A Bad Writer for Fun for giving me the idea so go check him out.**

* * *

**Anyway, before we finish, I'd like to give a massive shoutout to Tohka Yatogami. No, not the best girl from Date A Live (Kurumi fans. Do not attack me. I will hit back), the author on FFNET. Go read her stories! They're great. My favorite currently is Daydreamer Dragon but Legend of the Heavenly Dragons is a close second alongside Spiritual Successor. So, if you're still here reading this, then drop your phone (lol, don't drop your phone) or laptop (don't do drop your laptop either) and subscri- I mean read Tohka Yatogami's stories!**

**Next, I would like to address the massive citrus fruit in the room that you can use to make juice to sell at a stand at which point a duck shall walk up to you and ask for grapes. You reply with a no and the duck waddles away til the very next day. Yes, I wrote it! I wrote a foursome lemon between four virgins! Are you proud of me now! I hope you're not disappointed because ****I will not write porn/hentai level lemons for four virgins doing it for the first time. That's not believable in my book. This is a _realistic_ depiction. So I'm sorry if you didn't expect: **

**_Issei pumped his steel hard cock in and out of Irina's tight angelic cunt. Each thrust he made sent her into an ecstasy induced nirvana due to her constant orgasms. Her eyes rolled back and her tongue was out of her mouth as she continued to be fucked silly by Issei. _**

**_Issei raised his hand and smacked her firm ass, causing it to jiggle like jello._**

**Okay, you will not get that for two virgins having sex for the _first_ time. They're also not going to be idiots and be completely ignorant of where what goes and what happens if Issei releases inside of them so... yeah! And everyone who answers to a new writer whose just trying to please their audience when they ask "How do you write a good lemon?" and says "Imagine sex", screw you guys. That was the most nerve-wracking experience I've had writing this story. Whoever the fuck says that writing a lemon is easy on your first time needs to get checked out because there are so many aspects you need to get right. Pacing. Description. Anatomical Correctness! I'm talking to you Isseis with 5000 ft long dicks! Anyway, that's my rant. Remember.**

**REVIEW! That's the most important and a way to tell me if you actually want more content. And Fav/Follow, if you liked.**

**And have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours~!**

**PS: I know the chapter title is misleading.**


	33. With the Time I have

**Okay so, a quick warning about this chapter. There is going to be a lot introduced here and a couple of skipping around in time. I want you to remember one thing in this chapter that will be very important in about two chapters and a character I want you all to sear into your minds. You'll know it when you see it. Another thing is that Rhongomyniad asked me in the reviews of how the Hephaestus Demigods could exist if Hephaestus couldn't impregnate other women. I'll explain it here and not down in the replies so that people will understand. Okay, so here's the thing. There are loopholes within the Bond. Say, for example, your bonded _female _mate is barren, meaning that they're incapable of becoming pregnant, then you can use surrogate. The male, however, cannot biologically impregnate the female through sex so the only way is "artificial insemination". I say "artificial" because it doesn't work the same way. The mated female has to extract the sperm from the male and inject it into an ovulating surrogate. She, then, uses her grace/miasma to guide the sperm to the egg, acting as a beacon of sorts. The male's sperm will recognize the signature and penetrate and fuse with the egg and voila! Impregnate non-bonded female to act as a surrogate carrier for the child. That's how Hephaestus demigods were made because let's face it. Lilith wouldn't let Hephaestus cheat and even if he did, he'll never get off. So, let's get started!**

**Amatsu-Mikaboshi: CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Mount Everest, Amor Caelestis Civitatis, April 21, 2020, 10:05 AM; Current Time: 2 Minutes and 36 Seconds Til Midnight**

* * *

He was a rather patient man. As a Seraph, it was required of him to be dignified and sublime. After all, God had intended for angels to be the perfect creations, even more so than humans and the other gods. Their state of power as of right now was an insult to their efforts to keep these filthy apes alive and well, not that he would say it outright.

The man in question is fairly tall. He wore a suit as he did for these sorts of occasions. The suit was white with a black tie. He looked to be in his fifties with balding hair and blue eyes. His skin tone was the same as that of a Caucasian man and he was surrounded by an air of superiority. Behind him were twelve wings signifying his status as a Seraph.

The man sat next to the other representative sent by Heaven, specifically the Archangel Gabriel in her place. She had long silky hair that shined with the color of gold. Her blue eyes sparkled like the very stars. Her hair was tied in a braid running down the back of her head with a white bow attached at the end. She also wore a white lace headband.

Her stern blue eyes turned to him. "Zadkiel. Pay attention. Lady Gabriel sent us here in hers and Lord Raphael's place. We must show an attitude befitting of being Heaven's representatives."

"I know Anael. I've been at this longer than you," he said, waving her off. Anael glared at him before turning her attention back to Rudianos. The old coot (old in the opinions of the other. Anael was billions of years older) had gone on talking about letting him oversee the operations of DxD.

"If I am given responsibility, I will make it my duty to stamp out the demon scourge. I swear on my honor as the God of War," he said.

"Bullshit," A beautiful raven-haired woman said from the Egyptian Table. She was Isis, Goddess of Magic. "Where was the support we needed when we asked for it? Amon is now dead and most of Crete is underneath the Mediterranean not to mention the fact that the Sahara is buried under twenty feet of ice and snow."

"Help was not ready at the time. Perhaps if you all waited rather than sending teams behind the Council's back, we might have been able to stop her effectively," he retorted.

Isis glared and prepared to yell at him when Osiris put a hand on her shoulder. Isis looked at her husband and sat down.

"Thank yo-"

"No. Don't thank me. Actually, do something useful," Osiris said.

"Excuse me!" the man bristled at the insult. A large wave of heat passed over them. Looking over to the Head Council, Rudianos saw that Hestia was covered in flames and glaring at all of them.

"Do not make me intervene again. Are we clear, _Godling_?" Hestia's flaming eyes bore into Rudianos's lone one. The god felt beads of sweat rolling down his face as he nodded.

"Hestia, enough," Bathala said from his seat. Hestia sighed and dispersed her flaming aura.

"Anyway, let's continue with what we actually came here for and not your little speech, Rudianos," Serafall said. Serafall snapped her fingers and the doors opened. A battered and shaken Issa Shuzen was being escorted by multiple guards into the council room. In his arms was an object wrapped in a cloth, his eyes darted around the room fearfully as all the supernatural leaders looked at him curiously.

"What is a vampire doing here?" Freyja asked.

"He was here in the middle of the council room holding something when we arrived," Serafall replied.

"He mentioned that he had a message for us but who it was from we don't know," Tsukuyomi said.

"What message did he have for us, if I may ask?" Athena said, completely unnerved by his presence. The man was not right and he reeked of blood. Not to mention his injuries.

"Issa," Issa's head snapped over to Frigga. "Please tell us why you're here. All the other allied leaders are here now and you don't need to be afraid anymore."

Issa shakily nodded as he stood up.

Over in the very back of the room, Risa, Eden Squad, and Vali Team stood there watching the council session unfold. Moka and Tsukune immediately ran over to the railing upon seeing Issa.

"Is that…?" Ingvild said with her eyes wide in horror as she watched Issa remove the cloth. Elmenhilde ran over to a trashcan and puked her guts out. Everyone else looked on in mute horror at what he was holding.

In Issa's arms was the head of the Queen Carmilla. Her spine was still attached and the eyesockets were burned out.

The gods and other supernatural leaders all turned green at the mutilated head of Queen Carmilla. Some of the gods passed out upon seeing her while others looked away.

"Issa, explain now!" Indra said, slamming his fist down on the table.

"Lilith," Issa replied. "Lilith came and attacked us personally."

"Why would she do that?" Hermes asked him.

"The European Families sent vampires to attack demon scouts that Lilith sent to survey southern Europe. She said that she wanted something in Greece," Issa said.

"Tartarus. She wants the location to the Doors of Tartarus," Athena said.

"Doesn't she know where the doors are?" Tyr asked them.

"Yes, she does as does every supernatural leader. The door's location shifts around every two days but mostly appear in Epirus," Athena informed him. "The only ones who know where the doors will appear next are Lords Tartarus and Erebus and Lady Nyx. Hades has a general idea but not the exact location."

"It also seems that your efforts or at least their efforts to stall her have paid off," Serafall said. "But at a price," she continued, gesturing down at the head.

"If I may ask, Lord Shuzen," Zadkiel spoke up. Issa looked at the Heaven Booth. "Where is Lady Bloodriver? Did she perish in the attack as well?"

"No, she and a few other vampires managed to get to safety," Issa said. "My daughter and her mate being one of them."

Zadkiel nodded, satisfied by his answer.

"Why does she want to open Tartarus so badly? What's down there?" Issa asked.

"Samael," Anael replied. "It's where Lady Gabriel sealed Samael after his attempted rape of the First Prophet, Aclima. We're guessing that she wants to use him as a deterrent against Ophis and Great Red."

"Excuse me, but I'm having a hard time believing that Lilith singlehandedly wiped out all the vampire leaders of an entire faction. Even us Gods would have a hard time doing that," Guan Yu said.

"You weren't there," Issa snarled. "She had more power in one finger than the entirety of the vampire council! She can use light like an angel. Even Akasha had to use all of her power just to keep us from being turned to nothing!"

"I find your claims hard to be-" Rudianos was interrupted by Anael.

"If you have nothing useful to say, then keep your mouth shut. What he says is true. Lilith is powerful, beyond you, beyond nearly any of you in this room," Anael said.

"And you think you can defeat her?" Freyja asked.

"HAHAHA! I'm not delusional. I would never fight Lilith. Never in my life," Anael said. "Even when Heaven was at full power, I was never insane enough to fight Lilith."

"Yes, the Holy War damaged all of us. You don't need to keep complaining about your lost power," Bathala said.

"Easy for you to say, Elder God. You still retain your former powers," Zadkiel scoffed.

"I feel like this needs to be explained. You keep mentioning this Holy War since the demon, Beelzebub, surfaced. What exactly was it?" Athena asked.

The present Elder Gods and the Angel Factions all gave each other looks before Baraqiel sighed and began to speak, "The Holy War was a terrible war that was waged throughout all of Creation, not just Earth. It made the war fought between the Three Factions and the other pantheons later look like a schoolyard fight."

"It was between the forces of Creation and Heaven against the forces of Hell. Trillions died in the war. We all lost friends, family, lovers and we all came out worse than when we came in. The Archangels lost their powers along with Heaven. There also used to be more of you but they died off during the war," Anael continued.

Bathala looked down at the mention of their losses. His brother and sister had been killed by the Prince of Hell, Bael, who disappeared after the war alongside the Seraph, Metatron.

"So what? Are you saying we don't have a fighting chance?" Indra asked from the head council stand.

"I never said that," Baraqiel said. "We'll just have to fight harder."

"I wholeheartedly agree with you Lord Baraqiel. Which is why I nominate myself to head the DxD Operations. As one of the oldest war deities here, I believe I can provide the expertise needed to outmaneuver the demons at their own games," Rudianos said, trying to acquire Baraqiel's support.

"We're not going to hand over control of the special forces to someone who couldn't even defeat Ares," Frigga said.

"Ahem, that loss was a momentary lapse in judgment on my part. I assure you that I shall efficiently lead these operations," Rudianos said.

"I agree with him," Freyja confirmed. Frigga and Tyr looked over to her with wide eyes.

"Why?" Tyr asked.

"The Elder Gods have offered us no viable solution to defeat Lilith. I believe that it is time to let a fresh perspective have a look at the situation. Rudianos has my vote," she said.

"I thank you, Lady Freyja," Rudianos said, bowing. The god smirked internally at the sudden gain in support. "I assure the rest of you that I shall enact the will of the Council and use my new power to stamp out the demon threat!

"Well, he and Freyja have a point. We need to act now if we are to keep them a small threat," Guan Yu said. "Rudianos, the Chinese pantheon shall lend you their support."

"The Igbo Pantheon lends their support."

The Head Council watched with amazement and slight horror as Rudianos began to gain overwhelming support from the other pantheons. Zadkiel clenched his fists. Do they not know what was going to happen if Lilith won. As he made to speak, a monotone voice caused everyone to look in its direction, "You're all fools."

"Ophis-sama," Grayfia said as she looked at the Dragon Goddess and her companion.

Next to her was a man with brown hair with an ahoge on top. He wore black robes with red embroidery. His eyes were a light shade of red and his slight grin revealed his fangs.

"She's right you know. If Lilith wins, we can all kiss everything goodbye," he said.

"Excuse me but who are you?" a dark-skinned man wearing ancient Aztec robes spoke up. He was Atlahua, Aztec God of Fire and Time.

"This is baka-Red," Ophis said, her grey eyes boring into his. The entire room's eyes widened in surprise. Great Red was here. The Dragon of Dreams never left the Dimensional Gap.

"Great Red never leaves the Gap. Why is he here?" Vali asked Risa.

"Because there are some things even the Dragon Gods fear. Death is one of them," she replied.

"But they're infinitely stronger than Lilith. Why do they feel afraid?" Mitsuki asked this time.

"Everyone is afraid of something. Those two are afraid of what is to come should Lilith win. Remember this, there are always bigger fish out there. Just because those two are who you've all been taught to believe is the apex doesn't mean they are," Risa said.

"Like MAVETH?" Mitsuki said. The minute the name was said, all the lights in the room dimmed a little and the room became much colder. Ophis snapped her head over in their direction and made a zipping motion with her hand, telling them to shut up. Risa looked surprised at her question.

"Where did you hear that name?" she asked.

"I get bits and pieces of memory from my time in between life and death. A Reaper mentioned them. Who are they by the way?" Mitsuki asked.

"He is the one you would call _the_ Grim Reaper. The Absolute Embodiment of all Death. The Final Solution if you will. Remember the stories about the Flood. That was him," she said. The group nodded and turned their attention back to the newly arrived Dragon Gods.

"What do you mean by that?" Athena asked him.

"Exactly what I mean. If Lilith reaches her endgame, everything you and I love will go up in flames," Great Red said.

"You'll have to elaborate," Rudianos said.

"Unfortunately, we cannot. Lilith's actions are unknown to us. She is being shielded by someone," Ophis said.

"I assume this someone is the true mastermind behind all this?" Serafall asked. The two looked at her and nodded.

"Do you have any idea who this mastermind is?" Freyja asked.

"We call her the Great Dragon," Ophis told them.

"..." the room went silent at Ophis's words as the temperatures dropped. Ice began to form on the window panes.

"I believe that will be all for today's meeting," Hestia said. "Council dismissed."

All the gods began teleporting back to their respective pantheons. Rudianos left with a smug smile on his face and a new air of superiority surrounding him.

As Issei and the others watched the Gods leave, the sound of footsteps was heard behind them. Risa's ears perked up and her tail stiffened like a cat's. Her eyes flashed red for a split second before forcing a polite smile onto her face. She turned around to greet the newcomer.

"Zadkiel-dono, it is an honor to have you here," Risa said.

"Ah, Risa, demoted to being a glorified babysitter I see. And to a Cambion and his devil friends no less," he said. His eyes traveled and settled on Issei.

"Issei-san. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am a big fan of your heroics. I hope we can work together well in the coming days," he said.

"Yeah… me too," Issei said. Zadkiel flashed him a quick smile before turning to Risa with an arrogant smirk.

"I'll be seeing you back in Heaven, trash-eater," he said as he walked away. Anael looked between the retreating figure of Zadkiel and Risa, who was beyond angry. The reincarnated angel was livid at his words. Power was slowly leaking out of her in waves as she began to glow red.

"I'm sorry for his words, Risa. As Lord Raphael's Queen, you deserved more than that," she said.

Risa breathed in deeply, calming herself down. She turned to Anael. "Thank you for your words, Anael-dono."

Anael nodded and disappeared in a flurry of golden feathers and the sound of wingbeats.

"Who was that asshole?" Issei asked.

"That was Zadkiel. He is a Seraph," Irina said. She did not like the man. He looked down upon all reincarnated angels with disgust on his face.

"Issei," they all turned around and saw Grayfia and Sirzechs walking up to them followed by Serafall.

"Aneue," Issei was pulled into a hug by Grayfia. She pulled away and a sly smile came to her face.

"Sooo, you did the dirty with them huh?" she asked.

Issei's face turned red as he looked away. Sirzechs whistled and congratulated Issei. "Good job, otouto!"

Irina, Kuroka, and Rossweisse turned beet red as Sirzechs patted Issei on the back. Grayfia glared at her husband, causing him to shut his mouth and stop talking. A man pushed through Sirzechs and Grayfia and wrapped Moka in a hug.

"Chichi-ue!" she gasped out as Issa hugged her tightly.

"Sekiryuutei, Hakuryuukou, I thank you for looking after my daughter and her mate when they arrived at your home," Issa said, bowing to Issei.

"No, no, it's fine! Really!" Issei said. Issa nodded and returned to talking to Moka and Tsukune.

"I think we should leave," Irina whispered to Issei, who nodded back. The group left the reunited vampire family and went back to their homes.

* * *

**Kuoh, May 25, 2020, 9:35 AM**

* * *

Issei sat in his room, poring over some books on his desk. Rias and the others had come today to train for an upcoming Rating Game and since Akeno's home didn't have a training field, they asked to use his. He accepted but holed himself up in his room. He had been there for a few hours studying for the Kuoh University Entrance Exam. He and the others were graduating in a few days and he decided to get a head start on it. Their graduation had been pushed back thanks to the debacle with Beelzebub and the missing children and their set graduation date was May 31st.

It had also been a month since Issei and the girls bonded. A month with no word of demon activity. It was like they had all disappeared. The Celestial Council had a back and forth whether or not to increase the number of forces used to guard the Doors of Tartarus and Serafall had been the tie-breaking vote that allowed the Elder Gods to win. Of course, it didn't go as planned as ever since Rudianos had been put in charge of military affairs, he had a say in when they should send them and so far, no word.

A crashing sound alerted him and Issei ran out of his room and down the flight of stairs. As he arrived, he saw Hiruko holding his bruised face with an angry Ravel and Koneko. Behind them was a shaken Nancy, who was hiding behind Koneko.

"You cheating bastard!" Ravel said as her wings grew in size.

"What!? So you allow Hyoudou to be with multiple women when you dated him but not me!?" Hiruko said incredulously.

"There was a difference. Issei asked Rias for permission before he pursued it! We all needed Rias's approval!" Koneko yelled.

Hiruko looked down and to Nancy.

"What happened?" they all turned and saw a confused Issei. Nancy immediately stood up and ran over to Issei, hiding behind his back.

"Nancy?" Issei asked.

"H- He wouldn't leave me alone! After I said no, he- he… he tried to force a kiss on me!" she said. Issei's bangs covered his eyes as an oppressive aura began to come down on the entire room.

**|If there's one thing I detest, it's people forcing themselves on others. Show that pathetic lower lifeform what it means to be helpless!|** Tiamat roared from within the **Boosted Gear**.

Hiruko began to walk backward and tripped on a pillow. Falling on his butt, Hiruko backpedaled towards a wall. He stared fearfully into Issei's glowing red eyes. Before Issei could do anything, Hiruko began to vomit blood.

Issei stopped after seeing the boy vomit what seemed to be a liter of blood onto the carpet. A bright, searing light was shining outside the window. A horrendous screeching sound filled the entire household forcing everyone except for Nancy to their knees. Every lightbulb exploded while the windows around them shattered, sending shards all over the living room leaving cuts over the people that were unfortunate enough to be in their path.

The front doors were vaporized as Gabriel walked in. Her eyes were glowing a toxic green and all sixteen of her wings were flared. With each step, the world shook as the skies roared in response to her fury.

Hiruko felt his life flash before his eyes as he saw the woman in front of him reach out to grab his face.

Before Gabriel could even touch him, a voice called out. "GABRIEL!"

Gabriel froze and she dispersed her power, causing the storms to vanish and the quakes to stop. She turned around and saw Michael standing at the doorway.

"Cease this at once!" Michael ordered.

"But Onii-sama! This filthy flesh bag tried to force himself on a Proph-!"

"I know what he did! We all saw it!"

"Then why are you stopping me!?"

"..." Michael went silent at her question. She was just doing her duty as the Guardian of the Prophets. Back then, this boy would have been dead, erased from existence for so much as touching the girl.

Seeing that Michael couldn't formulate a response, Gabriel's glowing eyes faced the boy and he began to choke on his own blood, while the rest boiled inside his body.

"WAIT!" Gabriel stopped and turned to look at Nancy. Her eyes widened when she didn't see the Scottish girl but someone else. A young woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes which had flecks of gold inside of them.

"Aclima…," Gabriel said softly, causing Michael's eyes to go wide.

"Huh? Who's Aclima? I'm Nancy," she said. Gabriel blinked for a second and saw the Scottish teen standing before her nervously.

"Please don't kill him Lady Gabriel! I know he's a sorry excuse for a human being but that doesn't mean you have to kill him," Nancy said, bowing.

Surprised by her actions, Gabriel dropped the boy and glared at him. "Every breath you take from now on is because of her. Do you understand me?"

Hiruko nodded furiously before scrambling to his feet and running out of the house. Gabriel sighed before disappearing to the sound of wingbeats. Michael rubbed his forehead and snapped his fingers, repairing Kuoh and Issei's house.

"What am I going to do with you, Gabriel?" Michael said.

"Michael-sama! What happened!?" Rias asked as she and everyone else ran into the living room.

"Hiruko tried to make a move on Nancy," Koneko said.

"That bastard," Ravel said, clenching her fists.

"Okay…, that doesn't explain wh-"

"Gabriel is extremely protective of all Prophets," Michael interrupted Rias. "She has been ever since, the incident."

And with that, Michael disappeared in the same fashion as Gabriel. Issei took Nancy and walked her back to her room and everyone else left and continued on with their day.

* * *

Hours passed after the entire debacle with Issei continuing to study. Kuroka had come in at some point and studied with Issei. She eventually fell asleep on the book so Issei had moved her to his bed and tucked her in.

"Haaah, done for the day!" Issei said, getting up to stretch. The sounds of his bones popping brought great pleasure and satisfaction to Issei. He had been sitting down for too long. Seeing that Kuroka was still soundly asleep in his bed, Issei left and closed the door quietly.

As he walked down the hall, he saw Lily sitting on her bed, playing her switch. He knocked on her open door, causing her to look up. Her green eyes visibly brightened when she saw him.

"Big Broth-!" Lily was stopped when Issei's finger poked her in the forehead. She brought her hands to touch her forehead while pouting at him.

"Wanna go to the park, Lils?" Issei asked her. Lily's pout morphed into a sunny smile as she nodded fervently. Hopping onto Issei's back, the two walked out of the house and made their way to the park.

Upon arriving, Lily jumped off Issei's back and ran off to find her friends, who were coincidentally also here. Issei walked over to a bench and sat down, watching her run around. As Issei watched, he noticed a presence sit down next to him.

"She's becoming more and more like you. In a way, you're raising her the same way she raised you," a voice said. Issei turned and saw the crimson eyes of Amatsu-Mikaboshi.

Issei looked down at the ground. Was that really what was happening? There had been people at the school saying that Lily was quickly becoming a mini non-perverted Issei. Her infectious smile and boisterous personality was nearly a mirror of his. And to think she was a shy little girl just a few months earlier.

"Thanks, Mikaboshi-sama," Issei said.

"Don't call me -sama. Just call me Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Mikaboshi, or Amy. I'm practically Lilith's sister anyway," she said.

"Okay… Mikaboshi-san," Issei said. She was surprisingly relaxed for a Supreme Goddess. Every other god demanded respect and admiration other than Odin. That man seemed to always be high and perverted. The raven-haired woman smiled before her gaze turned to the playground.

"The innocence of children is the most beautiful sight in the world," she said.

Issei nodded.

The two sat in comfortable silence, watching Lily chasing after another girl and screaming happily. Her smile was one of Issei's favorite things to look at. Despite the trauma she had gone through, the girl managed to retain her childlike innocence and joy. Mikaboshi was right. It was the most beautiful thing in the world. He almost began to think of how his possible death would affect her.

"Why did you do it?" Mikaboshi asked, bringing Issei out of his thoughts. Issei looked at her oddly. "You have three women who love you with their entirety of their very existence. Friends who care for you. Sisters who love and support you. So why did you make a deal?"

"For that exact reason, you mentioned. To save my sister," Issei said.

"I see," she said. "And you don't regret it?"

"I'd do it again. I'd do it for any of them," Issei said.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi nodded and turned her gaze back to the children. "Do you regret not being able to watch her grow up?"

"Yeah, I do. But she'll be fine. If I can't find a way out of this deal, then she'll have Irina. Mitsuki. She'll have Kuroka and Rossweisse. Everyone in Eden Squad to help fill the void that I'll most likely leave behind," Issei said, looking at her sadly.

"You know she'll be different after your death," she said.

"Yeah, but she won't be alone," Issei said. "I'll guarantee it."

"BIG BROTHER!" Lily ran over to him. Upon seeing Mikaboshi, Lily waved to her. "Hi! I'm Lily! What's your name?"

"My name is Amatsu-Mikaboshi, little cambion," she said, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Mika-nee-san!" Lily said. Amatsu-Mikaboshi's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lily.

"Aww, you're so cute and precious!" she grabbed Lily and started rubbing her cheeks against hers.

"Ahh, let me go you, crazy lady!" Lily said, struggling against Mikaboshi's grip. Issei chuckled at the sight of the scene. Lily really was starting to become more and more like him every day.

"Lily," the two stopped and looked at Issei. "Let's go. The sun's setting," Issei said.

Lily nodded and phased through Mikaboshi's arms by turning parts of her body into black smoke.

THWACK!

"Owie!" she rubbed the top of her head as she looked up at Issei with a pouty glare.

"No using your powers in public," Issei said.

"Hmph!" Lily looked away from him. Issei sighed.

"How about we go get ice cream on the way home as an apology for chopping your head?" Lily looked up and her features visibly brightened at his offer.

"Okay!" she hopped onto Issei's back.

"Children, so easily sated," Mikaboshi said. "Well, then, I'll be off. I hope to meet with you like this again, Little Dragon." Mikaboshi turned and had her back to them as she was engulfed in a sphere of darkness that dispersed, leaving no trace of her behind.

"Well, let's go!" Lily began to tug on Issei's collar, causing him to chuckle and walk in the direction of his house and the ice cream shop.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, May 31, 2020, 8:05 AM**

* * *

Issei and the others entered into the Kuoh Academy auditorium, dressed in their school uniforms. Today was Graduation Day for them. Graduation was supposed to be in March but with the missing children, the date was pushed back to May to allow them to catch up, granted, Murayama was the only one who went missing.

The graduating class was introduced by Zeoticus, as he was the administrator of Kuoh. The graduation ceremony proceeded like normal. Ravel was chosen by her class to give the farewell speech to the third years and Irina was chosen by their class to present the return speech.

"Thank you for those kind words, Phenex-san. I would like to take a moment to talk about this wild journey that was highschool life for all of us. We laughed. We loved. We cried. Some of us died," Irina said, earning chuckles from the graduating class.

"I came here in my second year after returning home from Europe of all places. The continent was nice. People were friendly but I've always wanted to come home. And now, here I am, in front of all of you."

Irina looked back at all of her classmates.

"I will never be more thankful to be part of this graduating class. This is the class that reintroduced me to my best friend, who is now my boyfriend. I've also met many lifelong friends. My teacher, Rossweisse. Yuuto. Mitsuki or as we call her, Mii-chan. Kuroka, you sly cat. Vali. Bikou. Arthur. Everyone in this class. I'll remember you. Even if we all go to Kuoh University or some of you who are running off to Oxford or Yale, just remember. Our class will always be one big family and you'll always have that here," Irina said.

"With that said! Just because we're all graduating doesn't mean that this is goodbye! It's just 'see you later!'," Irina concluded her speech. She walked back and sat down next to Xenovia.

"Thank you, Shidou-san. Now, let's proceed with the ceremony!" Zeoticus announced. The students stood up and began to sing _Hotaru no Hikari_. After finishing, the crowd politely applauded before quieting down as Zeoticus walked onto the stage once more.

"When I call your name, please come up and receive your diploma," he said.

"Argento, Asia" Zeoticus began. Asia walked up to Zeoticus, who proudly handed her the diploma. And so, one by one, each of the names was called.

"Hyoudou, Issei," Zeoticus said. Issei stood from his chair and proudly walked to the podium with his head held high. In the crowd, he saw a familiar orange-haired man and woman seated next to a raven-haired woman with familiar blue eyes. She winked at him and his eyes widened slightly upon realizing that it was Lilith.

Issei smiled and he walked to Zeoticus and received his diploma. Zeoticus patted him on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, son," he said.

"Thank you, Gremory-sama," Issei said, smiling. Issei walked back and sat next to his twin, who smirked as she was called up.

"Hyoudou Mitsuki," Mitsuki walked up to Zeoticus and was presented with her diploma.

"As our Valedictorian, would you like to say a few words?" Zeoticus asked. Mitsuki blinked and saw her brother nodding. She turned and saw her parents recording and began to talk.

"I don't really know what to say. I didn't expect to be put on the spot. I realize that it is our last year and that we might not see each other again," Mitsuki said. Her words hit the devils and angel present at the ceremony in the heart.

"But, we'll always find a way to somehow make our ways back to each other. That's all I have to say," Mitsuki collected her diploma and sat down next to her twin. She looked down so the crowd wouldn't see the tears starting to collect in her eyes. She snapped her head up when she saw Issei smiling at her. She smiled back and composed herself.

Zeoticus called off the next set of names with Vali and Arthur walking up to receive their diplomas. After them was Xenovia.

"Irina Shidou!" Irina stood up and strutted over to the podium to receive her diploma. After her, Kuroka walked up and received hers, followed by Bikou, and finally Eren.

"I give you the graduating class of 2020!" Zeoticus said. The students stood up and began to bow while the crowd applauded them alongside all the teachers.

The older members of Eden Squad all walked down from the steps and walked outside.

"Ne, Issei," Kuroka said. She walked around him and stood before him. "Can you give me your second button?"

Irina's eyes widened at Kuroka's words. She had completely forgotten about that.

"Issei, give me your second button. I've known you longer and was with you first!" Irina said, determined not to lose to Kuroka of all people.

"Eh?" Issei looked confused. Who was he supposed to give it to?

"Make a choice, Aniki," Mitsuki said as she received Vali's second button.

"Umm, uhh," Issei looked between the two girls before getting an idea. Issei took off his second button and grabbed the second buttons of Irina and Kuroka's uniforms and broke them all in half. He took the two halves of his second button and melded them together with his fire powers and handed them back to the two girls.

"There. Now, the two buttons are together," he said. He took the two other halves of Irina and Kuroka's buttons and fused them together in the same manner before pocketing them.

"And now I have half of yours," Issei said, smiling at his genius.

"Where's my button?" they all turned and saw Rossweisse walking in. Issei sputtered as he tried to come up with an answer.

Rossweisse laughed at Issei's reaction. "It's fine. Though later, I expect something a lot bigger than a button," she whispered seductively into his ear. Issei's face turned slightly red at the prospect.

"Issei," his head looked up and he saw his parents standing in front of him. His mother smiled at her son.

"Congratulations," Miki said.

"Thanks, Kaa-san," Issei said.

Gorou nodded at his son, his eyes shined with a hint of pride.

Issei nodded back.

"We'll let you celebrate. Remember to come home later. We're going to have a celebration party for you two," Gorou said before he and Miki left. The two passed by Azrael and Azazel, both of whom were grinning ear to ear.

"Congrats kids," he said.

"Like he said, congratulations Issei, Mitsuki," Azrael said, ruffling his hair.

"Az-neeeee," Issei said, swatting her hand away.

"Well, we'll let you kids enjoy your youth. My sister and I have to go to a senior living meeting in Heaven," Azazel said as he turned around and walked away. Azrael looked dryly at her twin before following him.

"Have fun, Little Dragon," Azrael said as she left.

As soon as they left, Issei turned to them.

"Well, what do you guys want to do?" Issei asked.

"Let's go eat and drink," Mitsuki proposed.

"Yeah, I could go for that," Vali said. The group all chorused in agreement and all went to a sushi bar for lunch. The teams all conversed on what their plans were regarding their educational future. They had all agreed to go to Kuoh University together so that they could all stick together.

"So, we're all in agreement. We all go to Kuoh Unversity?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah. We'll all go in together and be in the same class," Arthur replied.

"To college! Kanpai!" Issei said, raising his glass.

"Kanpai!" the sounds of glasses clinking together commenced their celebration. Vali sang for Mitsuki which brought a lot of awws from the other girls in the booth. Issei grumbled about how Vali was an acceptable suitor to his twin which Irina and Kuroka giggled at.

He was so overprotective at times. After a few hours, the others decided to leave. Vali had to go with Arthur to go pick up Le Fay from Kuoh. Kiba was called away by Rias for training for her next Rating Game, and Bikou was called to Kyoto alongside Kuroka.

"Oh, Michael-sama?" Irina looked down at the A on her hand. "I'll meet you back at home. Michael-sama is calling me and the others for something." Irina leaned over and pecked Issei on the cheek before leaving.

"So what now Aniki? Our lovers and friends have left us," Mitsuki said.

Issei sat deep in thought and had a brilliant idea.

"Follow me," he said. Nodding, Mitsuki followed Issei outside and stood in front of his car. The group had all piled in and Issei drove them to the bar to celebrate. Now, it was just Issei and Mitsuki.

"What are we doing?" Mitsuki asked. Issei suddenly tossed the keys at her, surprising her by his sudden action.

"Wha-? You never let me or even Irina drive it?" Mitsuki asked.

"Well now's a good time," Issei said as he got into the passenger's seat.

Mitsuki gulped and walked over to the front.

"Okay," she breathed, putting the key into the ignition. She turned the key, bringing the car to life.

"Okay, now-"

"Adjust your mirrors first," Issei said. Mitsuki nodded and set her mirrors to allow her to see her sides and her rear.

"Okay now…"

"Yeah, put it in reverse."

"Okay, we're doing this," Mitsuki said as she slowly began to back out.

"Check your mirrors," Issei said.

"Right," Mitsuki began to look between her rearview mirror and over her shoulder. She had a basic idea of how to drive due to Issei but she never got behind the wheel until now.

"Okay, now put in drive and here we go," Mitsuki said, slowly stepping on the gas. The car lurched forward before stopping. This process of stop and go kept going until Issei decided to speak up.

"Okay, you're doing good but remember. Relax. And drive with one foot and not two," Issei said.

"You got this. One foot for both gas and breaks and relax. Just relax Mitsuki," Mitsuki said as she began to drive forward.

"Look at you," Issei said, smiling as she began driving down the road. Thankfully, there weren't that many cars or else they would have been honked at or cut off.

The two drove in comfortable silence down the streets of Kuoh with the windows down. The cool breeze blew into the car as Mitsuki drove. Issei watched as his twin maneuvered down the streets, learning fairly quickly the ins and outs of driving on a road.

"Why are you teaching me this? You've never let me touch the wheel before?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"I figured that it was time, you know. Just in case," Issei said. _Just in case I'm not around anymore,_ he added as an afterthought.

Mitsuki went silent at her brother's words and began to focus on the road. She didn't want to think about that. It was her fault that he was in this situation in the first place. She was going to free him. He wasn't going to die. Not on her watch. Mitsuki put her foot on the brakes, causing the car to slow to a stop at a red light.

"You're not going t-"

"We never know," Issei said, interrupting her. "And besides, it's my job. Show my little sister the ropes."

"Three minutes, Aniki. Three minutes," she grumbled as she pressed the gas as soon as the lights turned green.

"Hehe, yeah," Issei chuckled. "Hey, focus!" he yelled.

A van came into Mitsuki's field of vision as she swerved out of the way. The driver glared at her and honked his horn.

"Watch where you're going, you crazy bitch!" the driver yelled as he passed.

"Sorry!" she yelled back. Mitsuki turned back to Issei with a nervous smile.

"Close one," she said, sweat running down her forehead.

"Focus."

"Right," Mitsuki trained her sights back onto the road. Issei sat in the passenger's seat looking proudly at her as she drove.

"Yeah, everything's gonna be fine," he muttered to himself as he focused on the road ahead.

* * *

**Review Reply:**

**Ouroboros Dragon. I'm going to answer your review at the end of this season because that comment deserves the best for last rating.**

**Scrumblenut: Technically, the title isn't misleading. It simply requires a different perspective/POV. And with the difficulty of lemons? Well, I just don't bother to do them with how irritating they can be with getting to fit a story. Anyway, the chapter was interesting and brought about more intrigue with the new events that have occurred. Take care.**

**Hmm, I guess it really does. I know how you feel too about lemons. You need the right timing to put the lemon in otherwise, your story would just have random smut in it. Also, godspeed to you.**

**AnimeFan0216: I'm both happy and sad to the sibling relationship of Issei and Lilith, We could only guess that this is the last time that they will bond and after that they are going to fight each other. And on the other side, calling the celestial council pathetic, for some reason I sensed your distaste there author-san.**

**This isn't going to be the last but it'll be the last for a very long while. As for the Celestial Council... even though I made them to be useful, I ultimately made them useless. So yeah, I have a love-hate relationship with it.**

**Yukikaze101: This is probably the main DxD fanfic I'm following right now. I love your divergence from canon, and this chapter's lemon scene was scorching hot! I also enjoy your take on mythology, and it's clear you've done some research on the pantheons you included in the story.**

**Thanks! That was my first time writing one! And I thank you for your kind words. Hours were spent into researching _a lot_ of pantheons that was used in this story.**

* * *

**Okay, so again, a lot of skipping around in time. Issei and the others graduated. If you didn't know this, Japanese High School Graduation is in March. I recently learned this so I had to rectify it but couldn't find the right reasons for them to graduate so late until the Beelzebub incident came to mind. Another thing is that this chapter wasn't Issei and the girls. It was mostly Issei's relationship with his sisters, Lily and Mitsuki. So I hope no one was disappointed in that there was no action for the most part. So remember, review! And follow/fav! Have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours!~**


	34. The Eclipse Bird

**Hello and welcome back to Crimson doesn't know how to write intros so he'll rip them off of other peop- _cuts off_**

**Hello and welcome back to... what chapter is it?**

***indistinct whispers that are most likely an indicator of the author's slow descent into madness***

**68!? We have that ma- _cuts off_**

**Hi and welcome back to Til Midnight! Just to be clear, Murayama is out of the harem as the more I thought about it, the less I could justify her being there in the first place. As such, her replacement will be Ingvild! So, pretend Murayama was never part of the harem, to begin with! Cool! Without any further interruptions, let's get going.**

**Astaroth: ****CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town, June 12, 2020, 6:37 AM, Current Time: 2 minutes and 34 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

"C'mon Lily!" Issei yelled, sending a telekinetic blast at her. It was low powered one as he didn't want to seriously hurt her but it was enough to leave a bruise. Lily ducked her small frame out of the way of the blast and raised her palm.

Issei jumped, narrowly avoiding the onslaught of ice spikes that came out from underneath him. He felt an immense force slam into his body as he was thrown into the wall and embedded into it.

Lily thrust her palms forward forming a small ball of darkness and fired it at Issei. Issei swatted the ball away before immediately avoiding a secondary blast.

Lily stood there panting. She was clutching her left arm as blood ran down her mouth. Ever since the end of May, Issei had increased the intensity of her training. He had mentioned that it was for her. To teach her how to defend herself. Lily paid his reasons no mind and accepted, eager for a chance to spend time with her brother. Ever since she saw Eden Squad in the Azazel Cup, she had made it her goal to become as strong as Issei one day.

"I think that's enough for today," Issei said, dusting himself off. Lily grit her teeth. He was barely winded. After everything, she threw at him!

"I… can… keep… going!" she said between pants. Her black and green eyes focused on him as she threw her palms forward. A massive amount of darkness began to pool between them forming a sphere.

"**SOUL EXT-!**" the ball grew unstable and fired prematurely. The force of the blast knocked Lily off her feet and threw the trajectory of the attack off course. The blast traveled into the sky, exploding in a thunderous explosion the size of the Kuoh Shopping District.

Lily lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Her chest heaved up and down as her heart and lungs burned from the amount of energy she had just expended. Her eyes drifted over to the smiling face of her older brother.

"That was a good attempt, but you're just not there yet," Issei said. "C'mon. Let's get you to someone who can heal you," he said, picking her up and putting her on his back. Lily wrapped her arms around his neck as Issei piggybacked her back to the house.

As they walked, Issei heard light snores coming from his back, indicating that his passenger had fallen asleep. He walked up to the door and opened it. Ingvild was currently the only one at home right now as Irina was with Michael and Kuroka was at Kyoto. Rossweisse, Kiba, and Gasper were in a Rating Game with the Gremory Peerage had scheduled this week against Agares Peerage so Mitsuki was absent as well. Vali and the remaining members of the Vali Team had been called away to Epirus by Serafall to assist in guarding the Doors of Tartarus.

Ingvild sat on the couch, mindlessly watching crime dramas. Her violet hair was styled in a ponytail and she wore a large violet shirt with track pants. She heard the door open and her orange eyes drifted over to Issei who was carrying an asleep Lily on his back. He smiled at her, causing her breath to hitch and her heart to start beating faster. She didn't know when it started but whenever she was around Issei, she felt happy.

"Ingvild!" she snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Issei looking at her strangely. Her face turned red as she realized that she had been staring at him for too long.

"Y-yeah?" she said, stuttering slightly.

"Do you know where we put our batch of Phenex tears? I want to get Lily healed up," he said. Ingvild blinked and looked at the child. She was injured, sporting several bruises with some on her face and others on her arms and legs. They were already fading and fast.

"Uh, yeah, they're in the storage room down the hall," Ingvild told him.

"Thanks!" Issei said as he began to walk off.

"W- Wait!" she said.

"Yeah," Issei stopped and turned his gaze to her.

"Do you wanna go and hang out in town after you put Lily to bed?" she asked.

"Sure! I've got nothing to do," he said. And with that, Issei left the room. Ingvild paused for a moment and placed her hand on her chest. What was happening to her? Was she? Did she? No, Issei was already married.

_Bad Ingvild! You can't have feelings! Issei is practically a married man with that bond of his!_ She thought. _Right! I have to go change!_

Ingvild ran up the stairs to her room and began to look for clothes to wear. She ran over to her mirror with a pile of clothes magically levitating behind her.

"This one? Or this one? Wait? Since when did I care about what I wore?" she said as she previewed several outfits in front of her mirror. Eventually, Ingvild just gave up and picked up a violet blouse and black knee-length skirt.

"Perfect!" she affirmed. Ingvild walked out of her room to see Issei waiting for her. He wore a black and red shirt and grey pants.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded. Issei put two fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. Magala appeared in a flash in a smaller version of her dragon form.

"Can you look after Lily while we're gone?" he asked.

"Sure Nii-nii!" Magala said and immediately entered Lily's room and closed the door behind her.

After that was done, the two walked out of the house and got into Issei's car.

* * *

Artemis walked down the streets, glaring at every man that dared to stare at her. Next to her, her lieutenant was profusely apologizing to them, stating that her friend was just PMS'ing and to not worry. She mentally scoffed. The only man allowed to gaze upon her body with eyes like that was I-

_STOP IT! YOU ARE THE MAIDEN GODDESS! DAMN YOU TSUKUYOMI FOR MAKING ME COME HERE! _Artemis yelled internally.

"Milady?" Thalia's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Why are we in Japan and why did we leave the rest of the Hunt back at Camp?" Thalia asked.

Artemis sighed. Curse Tsukuyomi and her evil plans! She was so going to get that violet haired bitch back one day.

"Tsukuyomi wants me to serve as the temporary guardian of the Red Dragon Emperor since Risa is currently in Heaven at the moment with her King sorting some things out," she said.

"Couldn't you just refuse? You never agree to anything that has to do with guys," Thalia said perplexed by how her mistress responded.

"I wish I did but Amatsu-Mikaboshi was also there," Artemis said, shivering slightly. That woman was terrifying when she wanted to be.

The two walked down the streets until Artemis's keen silver eyes spotted her target. A slight tint of red made its way to her cheeks as she stared at Issei's face. The world fell away and it was just the two of them. Issei turned around and walked over to her. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek.

"Artemis…," Issei said huskily, leaning in to kiss her.

"I- Issei?" she stuttered.

"Artemis!" Artemis snapped out of her daydream and saw Thalia waving her hand in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Her eyes moved back to Issei and saw him with another girl, Ingvild if she remembered correctly. A small pang of jealousy made its way into her. She tightened her fists at the sight. Why wasn't she the one spending time with him?

"Milady," Thalia said. "Are you just going to stand there staring at them like a stalker or go over there and say something?"

"R- Right!" Artemis steeled herself and marched over to Issei and Ingvild.

Issei and Ingvild were currently eating ice cream outside the shop. It was a hot day and the two decided that something cold would be nice. Ingvild laughed at a joke Issei made and felt a small fluttering in her heart. His smile was so beautiful to her.

As the two joked around, the sound of footsteps indicated the presence of someone approaching. They turned and their eyes widened when they saw her. Artemis. Issei and Ingvild immediately bowed to her in respect.

"Lift your heads you two," Artemis said in a regal tone. The two obeyed and looked at her curiously. She was dressed differently. Gone was the brown cloak and silver parka that the goddess was known for. She was dressed in a silver shirt and black shorts, making her look like a college girl rather than a goddess.

"Red Dragon Emperor," Artemis said.

"Y- Yes!" he said.

"I have been assigned by the Celestial Council, particularly Amatsu-Mikaboshi to be your guard," she said.

"But we already have a guardian," Ingvild stated.

"I know that. It's just… I'll be your secondary guardian. It's not that I don't doubt Risa's efforts because A) that woman can literally kill me without knowing. She is Heaven's greatest assassin and B) I have an army to help so that's why," she explained.

"Oh," the two said.

"Do you have anywhere for me and my hunters to stay at?" Artemis asked.

"Yeah, my house is large enough to accommodate that many people," Issei said.

"Excellent! I shall be back momentarily," Artemis said, disappearing in a burst of silver light.

"Sooo, while we wait for her to come back, what's the story between you two? Are you dating?" Thalia asked.

"NO!" the two yelled.

"He has three girlfriends already," Ingvild said.

"Oh? Three? I heard that the Red Dragon Emperor wanted a harem filled with beautiful women with all kinds of tits. Why stop at three?" she asked.

"It's complicated," Issei said, remembering what the other girls did to him.

"Oh," Thalia said, knowing full well that this was a private matter and refrained from asking any further questions.

"So, what's it like being a demigod daughter of Zeus," Ingvild asked her.

"It's not all that the stories hyped it up to be. It sucks being a Greco-Roman demigod. The minute you're born, monsters are on your ass and your godly parent doesn't even give a shit about you… well, that was until after Kronos," Thalia said.

"I heard about that. You guys locked down America and fought the Titan King," Issei said.

"Yeah, well, Percy fought him. We just practically stood by," Thalia said.

"What about the Giants and Gaia?" Ingvild asked.

"That was a crazy affair itself. Percy went missing, my supposedly dead brother turned up, and the Earth Mother waged war," she said.

"This one took place in…" Ingvild asked.

"Greece? Yeah."

A large burst of silver light caught their attention as Artemis returned with several dozen girls that seemed to be either pre-pubescent or in their early teens. The girls, sans Artemis, all glared hatefully at Issei.

Issei backed away and stood behind Ingvild, who returned the glare with full force activating** ⌜Nereid Kyrie⌟**. Her sanguine eyes caused all of the girls to flinch and Artemis to sigh.

"Girls, calm down that's no way to treat our host," she said.

"HOST!" the girls, sans Thalia, all said. They all began to protest while shooting Issei looks of revulsion.

"Yes, host. The Supreme Shinto Goddess, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, has seen fit to make us his bodyguard detail in the absence of the Queen of Raphael. As such, we will guard him with our utmost efforts and _treat_ him with the respect due to him as this generation's Red Dragon Emperor," Artemis said smoothly and evenly effectively shutting her hunters up.

"Ummm, you don't have to sta-"

"Are you saying that you're too good for us _boy_?" Artemis said as her silver eyes glowed menacingly. Issei snapped his mouth shut and gave in.

"Right, my house is this way. Just follow my car," he said as he walked back to the Impala. He turned the car on and Ingvild climbed in alongside Artemis, who took the back. Surprised by the Goddess's actions, Issei shrugged and drove back to his house.

* * *

"So, why are the Hunters at our house again?" Irina asked as she ad Issei prepared a _massive_ dinner in the kitchen together.

"Ama-san decided it would be a good idea to have her and her private army to be our bodyguards whenever Risa isn't here," Issei said as he cut up the onions.

"I see," Irina glanced over and saw a few hunters peeking out from the doorway, their eyes trained on Issei as if they were making sure he wasn't drugging their food with aphrodisiac.

"Shoo!" Irina said, flaring her power. The girls squeaked and fled from the room. Irina shook her head. She understood that their experiences with men were less than savory but from the looks of it, Artemis taught them that all men were amoral rapists, child and wife beaters, and murderers. Now, the girls can't tell the difference between good and bad men. Their hatred was indiscriminate and if they didn't do something about it soon, the male population of Kuoh would drop to an all-time low. Irina didn't even want to think of what would happen if a boy, a child, made one of them mad.

"Hey, Irina."

"Huh?" she looked down and saw that she had sliced through the cutting board. "Sorry, just wondering what would happen to the male population of Kuoh with the Hunters of Artemis being here."

Issei grimaced. His hand immediately went to cover his crotch, already imagining the volley of arrows he would have to dodge with his E-Rank luck.

Dinner proceeded somewhat normally. Vigne sat in between the two groups as Artemis and her hunters sat on one side and Issei, Irina, Ingvild, and Lily sat on the other. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She felt awkward like some sort of buffer zone. As she went to speak, the doorbell rang. Issei immediately shot out of his seat, mentally thanking whatever higher power existed.

Issei opened the door to reveal Kiba, Gasper, Rossweisse, and Asia, who were back from the Rating Game. Rossweisse moved forward capturing Issei's lips in her own as the two shared a welcome back kiss.

"Hey Kiba. How was the game?" he asked. Kiba was about to answer when he was interrupted by Gasper.

"It was great, senpai. Rossweisse-sensei wiped out half the team with one spell! She went BOOM! And then was like HI-YAH! And they were like AHHHHH!" Gasper made noises to indicate the effects of the one spell.

Issei smiled at the dhampir's infectious happiness. His gaze turned over to the last member, Asia.

"How were the games, Asia?" Asia blinked at his words. He was talking to her? Issei hadn't said a word to her since the Azazel Cup several months ago. Asia internally slapped herself. She wasn't going to mess this up. If she was going to get back into his good graces and at least establish herself as his friend. She knew that she had no chance of being in a relationship with Issei again. She had made her peace with that. She wasn't sure about the other girls though.

"O-Oh, it was fine, Issei-san. I didn't really do much as I am a healer," Asia said.

"Doesn't mean you're useless, Asia. You're an important keystone in the team," Issei said. Asia looked up at him and smiled. His words gave her confidence.

Issei smiled a little. It was extremely awkward talking to her. On top of the fact that she was his ex, he hadn't spoken to her in months and she didn't bother him out of respect. If Issei had to be honest, of all the girls in the ORC, Asia was the one he held to least animosity for.

"Come in. We have food. Oh, before you come in, Artemis and her hunters will be staying with us for a while so Gasper, Kiba. Be careful," Issei warned. The four nodded and walked inside.

Issei led the four to the dining hall. Noticing that they were missing some chairs, Issei left to go get some. Upon returning, he was greeted to the sight of Kiba and Gasper standing as close as they could to Vigne while the hunters glared at them with clear hatred in their eyes.

"Umm, I got chairs," Issei said, levitating the chairs behind him.

"Issei, we got this!"

"Yeah, Senpai, let us."

Kiba and Gasper immediately grabbed two chairs and sat them down next as close to Issei as possible. The two ended up sitting next to Irina and Mitsuki with Lily sitting on Kiba's right. The little girl was the only thing separating Kiba and a life of being a neutered man.

"S-So, Issei, I was wondering if Azrael-sama or Sensei had a mission for us or maybe some random devil heiress got kidnapped and we had to save her," Kiba asked. He was sweating bullets. Tonight's dinner was American Style with mash potatoes, steak, sausage links, etc. all grilled to perfection. However, the food wasn't the issue. It was the hunter sitting next to Lily. Her eyes kept glaring at Kiba while she slowly used her knife to cut the sausage into pieces.

Noticing his discomfort, Issei moved in to save not just him but Gasper as well. "I was thinking you two could come with me to the UK tomorrow to visit the grave of Lily's family. If you're interested of course! If you're busy, I c-."

"That's an excellent idea, Senpai!" Gasper chimed in.

"Yes, a trip to the UK sounds nice," Kiba quickly agreed.

Irina, Rossweisse, Ingvild, Mitsuki, Vigne, and Asia all sweatdropped. They really didn't want to be here.

As the three silently celebrated a day away from Artemis's group, a voice crushed their hopes.

"If that is so, I and my hunters shall accompany you," Artemis said as she swallowed a piece of brisket.

The three smiled but were panicking internally.

"No, no, Artemis-sama! We wouldn't want to bother you!" Kiba said.

"No, it's fine. The girls and I have nothing better to d-"

"There's a training room in the basement outfitted with spacetime seals to replicate any terrain! As well as a hardlight generator to create solid holographic enemies," Gasper chimed in.

"It sounds like you don't want us to go," Thalia said, raising an eyebrow. Artemis narrowed her eyes at the insinuation.

"Are you doubting our skill, _boy_?" Artemis asked, her silver eyes boring into Gasper's soul.

"No, ma'am!" Gasper shrank back into his seat.

"Then, I will hear no more of this. We _will_ go with you," she said.

"Actually, I could go with them. It'll allow you and your hunters to go and gather whatever supplies you left on Olympus as well as allow you to survey the land," Vigne offered, sipping her tea.

"I appreciate the offer bu-"

"Look, I know you're skilled but frankly, I wouldn't want your girls guarding my kids," Vigne said, looking Artemis directly in the eye.

"Excuse me! Are you comparing my girls to the male fi-!"

"That's exactly why. I can't guarantee that one of your hunters wouldn't harm or possibly even kill my son for something so petty," Vigne replied. Artemis went wide-eyed as did every hunter.

Eden Squad and Asia sat by trying to feel small while Lily hummed happily as she took her place on Issei's lap.

A random hunter spoke up. "You don't understand! We've suffered at the hands of males! They des-"

"So you're saying you'd kill any man?" Vigne interrupted once more.

"Yes," the hunter said with conviction.

"Even an innocent man who just got lost. Or perhaps even a child?" her eyes were cold, unwavering.

The hunter went silent. Would she kill a little boy?

"That's enough, Vigne-dono! You've tormented them enough," Artemis said, looking at her sternly.

"Hmph. It seems that you've taught them the wrong thing, Artemis. You, who pride yourself as a just goddess, have taught your hunters to harbor an indiscriminate hatred against the opposite sex," Vigne said. "As such, until you can correct such behavior, I shall be Eden Squad's guard against you."

Artemis grit her teeth and clenched her fists. This woman was infuriating! How was she supposed to guard her Prince- Charge!, against demons if she was in the way? However, she was right. The more people pointed it out to her, the more she began to observe their behavior. Their hatred was indiscriminate. And Artemis felt responsible for all the innocent men killed by her hunters. She silently made a promise to teach newer hunters something different. She could only thank Chaos that her half-sister wasn't like that.

"I… I see your point," Artemis conceded. She sounded defeated.

"Look, I'm not here to call you out on how you run yo- Well, I am but seriously, if _this_," Vigne gestured to all the hunters, "Is what you're teaching them then I'm sorry to say but your hunters have become worse than the very people you've saved them from. Tell me Artemis. What's your opinion on children?"

"I love children. I'm the Goddess of Childbirth and the Protector of Young Children for Chaos's sake!" she yelled, offended that Vigne would ever say such a thing.

"Hmmm, we're you aware of your hunter ever killed a child. A _male _child?" she continued.

Artemis moved to answer but snapped her mouth shut. Her older hunters began to sweat bullets. They knew how much their mistress loved children. Back in Ancient Greece, every time, they entered a town, all the children, especially orphans, would come to see Artemis. She was the perfect motherly and sisterly figure to them.

"No," she whispered out.

"Then, I suggest doing a shakedown of your group. Once you're done, I'll let you near Eden Squad," Vigne said.

Artemis nodded. What didn't she know about her own hunters? Every time, they came back covered in blood, human blood, they always said a male tried to touch them. Were they just lies?

As Vigne looked at an increasingly depressed Artemis who looked like she was having an existential crisis, she sighed. "Look, how about you go in my place? Just you. No one else," she offered.

Artemis looked at her confused.

"I- wha?"

"You can go. Just you. No hunters. No one else," she said.

"O-Okay," Artemis said.

"Good," Vigne went back to eating her dinner. The pressure that she had unknowingly released was lifted and the room was back to normal.

* * *

**Eastern London Cemetery, London, UK, June 13, 2020, 10:45 AM**

* * *

Issei walked out of a flower shop with a bouquet of lilies. Lily stood in front of him with a blank look on her face. She wore a black dress. Behind her were Kiba, Gasper, and Artemis. The three were standing awkwardly, keeping a slight distance between them and Lily.

"Let's go," Issei said.

The three entered the cemetery and began to look for the graves of Lily's mother and brother. Issei had been informed by Uriel that Lily's biological family had been buried and since they found out that she had ended up in Japan, the UK police interrogated him as to how she ended up in his care. He explained that he had found her digging out of the trash. The police ended up calling various witnesses in the town, all of whom corroborated Issei's story. Since Lily's last living relatives were dead, legal guardianship was transferred from the Hofferson Family, whose sole remaining member was Lily, to the Hyoudou Family.

Issei snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Lily's small hands tugging on his sleeve. They had arrived. Three headstones stood there. The one on the left was for Lily's father, who had died when she was a baby, the middle for Lily's mother, and the third for her older brother.

She took the lilies and gently took and laid one on each grave. Shaking and trying to keep her sobs in, Lily stood next to Issei and began to talk.

"Mum, Luke, I'm home…," she said. "I'm sorry it took so long but Big Brother Issei was teaching how to be strong. How to fight."

With that, she started to cry a little as tears fell onto the grass. "I have a new family now… they love me as much as you guys did. I…" she began to cry harder.

"I promise to make you proud. Big Brother said that you're looking down at me with Dad in Heaven," she said, her tears flowing steadily down her face. "I'll become the strongest and be a hero like Big Brother!"

"I won't forget you, Mum, Luke. Please keep watching over me," she said. Issei knelt down and wrapped her in a hug and she began to cry into his shoulder. After a few minutes, she began to talk.

"Let's go home, Big Brother," she said, her voice muffled by Issei's shirt. Issei nodded. The five left the cemetery not noticing three transparent figures watching them.

"_Take care of her for us Issei."_

The five walked out into the busy London streets, Lily holding Issei's hand as she dragged him to her favorite ice cream place. Kiba, Gasper, and Artemis were jogging to catch up with the two.

"Wait up Senpai!" Gasper said as he caught up to the two. Lily was sitting on a chair, eating ice cream while Issei was paying for four more.

"Here," Issei said, handing Gasper his favorite flavor.

"Thanks, senpai," Gasper said, causing Issei to ruffle his hair. He saw Kiba and Artemis sitting with Lily and walked over and gave them their ice creams. The two graciously accepted and the five began to sit there and eat.

Artemis stole glances at Issei. He wasn't bad looking. Sure, he wasn't the most handsome man on the planet but something about him made Artemis long for him. Aphrodite had told her that she had a crush on him after she asked her. Biggest mistake of her life. Her greatest rival, Tsukuyomi, got hold of said information and practically told the entire planet about her crush on the man.

"Artemis-sama!" she blinked and saw Issei looking at her intently. A red hue adorned her cheeks as she answered him.

"Y-yeah?"

"Is there something wrong? You've been looking at me for a few minutes now," Issei said.

Artemis's slight blush exploded into a full-blown nuclear one.

"It's nothing! I was looking at that… tree! Yes, that's right! As the Goddess of Wilderness, I must assess the quality of the tree," she said, putting on a proud smile.

The others blinked in confusion and shrugged. "Okay," Issei said.

"Oh and one more thing," she said.

"What is it?" Issei asked her.

"Just call me, Artemis," Artemis said, smiling. Issei nodded at her request. He had to admit, she had a beautiful smile. A feeling began to well up inside him. A feeling that confused him. Why was he reacting to her? Wasn't the Bond supposed to be between two people that had feelings for each other? Come to think of it, Ingvild made him happy too. Perhaps, he should ask Azrael, Azazel, or Hephaestus the next time they met.

A magic circle appeared and began to flash neat Issei's ear. Wondering who was calling him at this time, he answered it.

"_Issei."_

It was Sirzechs and his tone sounded grim. Serious even.

"Aniki, what is it?"

"_We need you to come to the Ars Nova. Bring your team with you."_

With that, Sirzechs cut the connection abruptly. Issei was confused. What was happening? Did his sister plan something or did she already attack?

"We have to head to the Ars Nova. Aniki wants us there," Issei said. He formed a magic circle and contacted Irina.

"_Yes?"_

"Irina, Sirzechs wants us to head to the Ars Nova. Tell everyone to head there as soon as possible."

"_Huh? Why does he want us there?"_

"He didn't say why, but he sounded distressed. Maybe something went down and they want us to handle it. Either way, we'll meet you there."

"_Right. See you there."_

Issei looked to his companions and nodded. Looking around to make sure that no one saw them, Issei formed a large magic circle beneath them and teleported to the Underworld. Upon arriving, Issei spotted Irina, Mitsuki, Rossweisse, and Ingvild waiting for them as well as the Hunters of Artemis. Issei walked up to greet the four before they headed inside. Upon entering, the secretary directed them to the conference hall of the Ars Nova.

Inside was Sirzechs, Ajuka, Azazel, Michael, Grayfia, and Rudianos. The Seven Heroes of the Greco-Roman Pantheon were also there. Percy looked back and waved. The old war god looked at them.

"Greetings Red Dragon. It's an honor to have you here," the old god said.

"Honor to be here," Issei said.

"Rudianos, get on with it. We called them here because of what is happening," Sirzechs said.

Rudianos narrowed his eyes and proceeded with the meeting. He formed several glyphs and projected a holographic map of the Grecian Peninsula. Several marks appeared on the map, most of them concentrated around Epirus.

"These are all the predicted locations that we were able to produce through statistical analysis from previous information of the Doors of Tartarus. We think that Lilith might attack Tartarus from here, pointing at a mountain.

"This is Mount Smolikas. We think that the demons might be hiding there and amassing their forces. This could be one of their main camps. We are sending your team, Artemis's Hunters and the Seven to launch an all-out attack on the area to cripple the demon presence there," Rudianos explained.

"How sure are you that they're even there?" Artemis asked.

"Our scouts have spotted several demons there so we have reason to believe that they are based out in that location. In addition, only one scout made it back, further backing our theory. They're protecting something," Rudianos said.

Everyone looked at each other with a strange feeling building up in the pit of their stomachs.

Annabeth slowly raised her hand.

"Yes," Rudianos said.

"What if they're not there? What if it's just a decoy?" she asked.

"Hmph. It is not a decoy. Otherwise, why would they go so far to defend that point? There's obviously something that they're protecting there if they went so far as to kill nearly all the scouts we sent into the area," Rudianos retorted.

"It could all just be a-"

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to you argue with me just because of that damnable pride you inherited from your mother, _girl!_" he barked.

Annabeth's eyes grew wide as she went silent. The other demigods stood to defend her and were about to speak when a heavy pressure fell across the entire room. Sirzechs looked at all of them, his blue eyes were now glowing with the Power of Destruction.

"That's enough! We need to focus back on the matter at hand. Sending them to raid a demon outpost in Greece," he said. The entire room agreed out of fear of the Crimson Satan's display of power.

Rudianos swallowed audibly and continued with the briefing. "Right, so Eden Squad and the Hunters will come in form the East and the West while the Seven come in from the South. It will be a three-pronged attack so the demons will have nowhere to go except North where the guards of the Door will be waiting for them," he explained. Everyone nodded.

"Very well, you all have to leave within the hour," Rudianos said.

"Roger!" everyone chorused.

* * *

**Epirus Region, Mount Smolikas, 12:00 PM**

* * *

Footsteps crunched through the forest floor as Eden Squad ran to the perceived location of the demon outpost. Ahead, the sounds of combat could be heard as a trail of black smoke flew overhead.

Kiba leaped immediately into the air and swung his new Enochian Sword, which he named Tenma, at the demon. The plume condensed into a humanoid monstrosity before spasming and glowing with flickering orange light.

Issei looked up and saw people running towards them. Their eyes were completely black and they all wielded various weapons. Guns, knives, swords, bows. Etc. The demons were the same as the ones they encountered in Crete.

"Guys, use an exorcism. These humans are possessed," Issei said. The six nodded and they began to use non-lethal combat methods while all simultaneously chanting.

"**Te Rogamus, Audi Nos!**" they all finished. Every possessed human threw their heads back as a violet glow began to emanate from their mouth and eyes. Funnels of black smoke erupted from their bodies before dispersing in a burst of orange flames. The humans fell to the ground unconscious as Ingvild and Irina immediately ran over to check for vital signs.

"They'll live," Irina said.

"Let's go meet up with the others," Issei said. They nodded and ran into the clearing. Artemis and her hunters along with the Seven stood over a field of corpses with one demon tied to a post. The demons struggled as he tried to break the bonds but whatever Artemis used was powerful.

"Issei," she said as they walked into the clearing. "Iron works on them," she said.

Issei nodded and knelt in front of the demon. The demon looked into Issei's eyes and grinned.

"So, the Little Dragon graces me with his presence. What an honor," he said. He spat his blood onto Issei's face, causing him to reach up and wipe it off.

"I'm not talking to a vessel. Come out and face me like a real demon," Issei said.

"I wish I could but I can't. Demons like me don't have bodies," the demon said, grinning dementedly.

"What do you mean? Beelzebub possessed Akeno and he has his own body," he replied.

"Beelzebub is a demon, I'm not technically one despite being labeled as such," the "demon" said.

"Then what are you?" Issei asked.

"I'm what you're going to become in a couple of months! People back then called us Spectra! And you'll be one of us! Once Hell takes away all that bravado and breaks you down like the pissant child you are! HAHAHAHA!" the demon began to laugh. "And you know what the best part is? We were just decoys! Lilith's already found out where the Gates are! You're too late!"

Everyone's eyes widened at that piece of information. It was a decoy!?

* * *

**Mount Vesuvius, Italy**

* * *

Lilith stood at the very edge of the caldera of the infamous volcano that wiped out the town of Pompeii. That claimed the lives of thousands of people. What people didn't know was that the eruption was not natural. It was triggered by something landing there, using the volcano as its nest.

"My Princess, what are we doing here?" Astaroth asked.

"I'm glad you asked. We're here to wake something up," Lilith said as she placed her hand on the ground. Her sclera turned black as her eyes began to glow with power. A pulse of energy was released from Lilith's hand and seeped into the ground. Violet lines could be seen weaving their way down to the center of the caldera.

Astaroth took a step back as the heat began to come from the caldera. The ground began to shake. Fissures began to appear, starting from the caldera's very center. Lava began to seep out and pressure began to build inside the volcano before the entire summit erupted in an explosion.

The residents of Naples and all the towns within a 75 km distance of Mount Vesuvius all looked and saw a large plume of ash coming from the infamous volcano. A shockwave traveled from the mountain, instantly flattening the remnants of the original town. Astaroth shielded her face while Lilith stood at the caldera's edge, unfazed by the heat and the explosion. Her face adopted a grin as _it _rose from the crater.

The beast was massive, standing at a height of over 30 meters. Its wings extended to their full length, completely blocking out the sky and casting a large shadow over the summit. It resembled a pteranodon with a v-shaped crest on its head that curved inwards at the ends. Its beak was long and serrated, giving off the appearance of teeth and possessed three fingers, two regular and one thumb, equipped with razor-sharp talons like it did on its feet. The skin of the large bird was dark red and gave off the appearance of semi-solidified magma. Its eyes were golden and catlike and looked out at the world.

The beast opened its mouth and released the most ear-piercing roar that no earthly creature, natural or supernatural could ever emit. The roar was a demonic combination of a crane, an owl, a penguin, and a vulture. The sound itself was enough to make one's' ears bleed.

The beast lowered its head down and let out a series of guttural growls and clicks as it stared at Lilith and Astaroth. Lilith calmly smiled and walked over to the beast, placing her hand upon its beak and began to stroke it softly. The beast leaned into the Demon Princess's touch and let out a series of affectionate growls.

"I need you to do something for me," she said as her eyes glowed.

* * *

**Parga, Epirus, Greece**

* * *

Serafall sat atop the head of her beloved peerage member, Grass, the Behemoth. The great beast was massive, comparable to the size of a large skyscraper. It had a massive shell on its back with a few trees growing on top and its head was armored with rows of jagged teeth inside its jaws. It had a long tail that was at least 25 meters in length. It had taken a massive cloaking spell to keep the Behemoth from being seen by the locals.

Right now, she was stationed in the Necromanteion of Acheron near the town of Parga alongside Thanatos, Hades, Kali, Thor, So-tan and her peerage, and Vali Team. Accompanying them was a large battalion of Greco-Roman Automatons and demigods, courtesy of Hephaestus and the Greek and Roman Demigod camps.

Suddenly, Grass woke up and roared, shaking the entire area. He stared at the sky and Serafall jumped off and hovered next to his head.

"Grassy-tan! What's wrong!?" she asked.

Grass huffed and motioned his head to the sky. The others looked confused and Hades began to speak.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Grass senses something. He says something's coming here!" she yelled.

Serafall turned her gaze back to the afternoon sky and squinted. Her eyes caught the sight of a massive reptilian bird heading in their direction.

"Guys, something's coming in our dire-" Serafall and the others were forced to cover their ears as a horrendous screech reverberated throughout the entire area, shattering all the windows in the nearby town. Serafall looked and saw the bird flap its wings, speeding to them and producing a massive shockwave that sent large waves crashing onto the coast of Greece and knocking everyone back.

Grass immediately charged out onto the Ionian Sea and met the bird head-on. The two titans began to battle as Serafall and the others moved to help. As they did, Kali noticed something odd. Streams of black smoke could be seen flying towards them from every direction.

"DEMONS!" she yelled as everyone froze.

The battle had begun. Lilith had made her move.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: 888-1**

**File Name: The Bond (Continued)**

**File: This file contains a list of strange phenomena that do not fall under the characteristics of the Bond. One of these is the impregnation of females that lead to the Creation of the Hephaestus Demigods. Scientists and Bond researchers at Blacklight have always found their existences to be anomalies and theorized that they are all children of Lilith until conclusive evidence came in 1976 when a Hephaestus Demigod told them that he was not a cambion. To prove this, he tested his blood and had all the markers for being half-human, half-god. Another anomaly is the bonding of Issei Hyoudou. Normally, Bonded Mates are a pair and no more than that, however, Issei was able to create three Bonds with three different females. Bond Analyst and Demon, Dantalion, has theorized that Issei possessed pre-existing feelings for all three women allowing him to Bond with them even though it would normally impossible to do so.**

**File End**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Yukikaze101: I like the bittersweet note this ends on, and deities arguing and essentially being gridlocked bureaucrats never ceases to ring true to me.**

**Heh, it is based on the current state of the US government soooooooo... hehehe.**

* * *

**Anyway, that's it for the chapter. Lilith has now officially launched her attack on Cocytus. We all know why she's there. Also, I know that you'll all go in the comments and be like, "WHY THE FUCK IS HE BEING NICE TO ASIA!" And my answer to that is, no. Issei needs to do this. He needs to move on. He needs closure. He might _DIE_ in a year. As you saw last chapter, Issei is starting to get his affairs in order and that will include the slow reparation of his friendship with the ORC. By no means is this a way for them to get back. That ship has sailed and was bombed into oblivion by me. Anyway, I'll see you all next chapter. Remember, review! and follow and favorite this story if you like! Have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours!~**

**PS: I've always thought that the story's true antagonist was the author. It's technically their fault protagonists are in whatever situation they're in in the first place.**


	35. Cocytus

**Haha! New chapter! Not even Jury Duty can stop me! It's been a year since I've been eligible and now... Eh. I finished this chapter while waiting for my name to be called only for it to not be called! WOOOOOO! Anyway, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?**

**Samael: ****CrimsonPyre does not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Parga, Epirus, Greece, June 13, 2020, 1:30 PM; Current Time: 2 minutes and 15 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Lilith watched from a distance as the beast, a Ziz Bird, wreaked havoc upon the guards of the Gates. The bird was being fought by Serafall Leviathan and Kali simultaneously alongside the Maou's familiar. She was honestly surprised when she saw it. Behemoth hasn't been sighted outside of Hell since the Holy War so the fact that the woman had a Behemoth with her threw her off.

No matter, this was going to be a successful invasion.

"My princess, when do we strike?" Astaroth said, kneeling behind her.

Lilith turned her head slightly. "We'll make our move in a bit. For now, let the demons and the Ziz clear out most of their troops," she said before her blue eyes turned back to the ensuing battle.

"My lady, are you sure that it's wise to allow a Seraph of all beings to join our forces? Not to mention the very same Seraph who can battle the Prince of Hell Bael and the Seraph Metatron to a standstill?" Astaroth asked.

"Samael, like the rest of Heaven, lost much of their power during the Holy War due to the extensive damage that Heaven received from the Total Event Collapse of the Tailarian Universe. Right now, Samael is as much of a threat as a mouse is to a dinosaur," Lilith said.

"Then, what's the point of employing a weakened angel?" she asked.

Lilith pulled out a vial. Astaroth's eyes widened upon seeing it. The very sight of the swirling red and black energy sent chills crawling down her spine.

"On top of the fact that dear old Sammy can help us keep two very annoying reptiles from interfering, this little gift should reverse the effects of that little curse dear old aunt Gabriel gave him thousands of years ago and restore him to his prime," Lilith said as she held the vial. "Look, I don't want to do this either. Aclima was my cousin but… it is necessary to ensure our continued advantage."

"Yes, Milady," Astaroth said.

"Is Abaddon in position?"

"Yes."

"Good, tell her to assist the Ziz in keeping their forces occupied," Lilith said.

"Of course, milady," Astaroth said, vanishing in a plume of black mist.

Lilith turned her gaze back to the battle below.

* * *

Serafall and Grass fought off the Ziz Bird with Grass using his tail and hitting the Ziz Bird in the breast, sending the demonic bird crashing into the sea. Grass roared, causing the earth around him to shake and the water to crash onto the Grecian Shore.

The Ziz burst from the sea and let loose an unholy scream. It sped towards Grass and began to attack it, using its talons to slash Grass across his back.

The Behemoth roared in pain and then grabbed the Ziz's foot. The bird tried to escape but Grass held on firmly, keeping the demonic bird from escaping.

"Grass! Hold it there!" Serafall yelled as she pointed her staff at the Ziz. A series of blue and violet magic sprung from the tip of her staff. Her violet eyes began to glow as her power began to freeze her surroundings.

Hades sensed an immense buildup in demonic energy and saw a violet aura surrounding Serafall that was steadily growing larger.

"Clear out! Serafall is using her ultimate!" he barked. All the gods nodded and took to the skies, alongside their troops. Teams Vali and Sitri also flew into the air.

"**CELSIUS CROSS TRIGGER!**"

A large blue and violet beam sped towards the Ziz. The Ziz turned its head at the last second and saw the beam. The beam consumed the Ziz, ripping it out of Grass's jaws. The bird let out an agonized shriek as the beam pushed the Ziz further out into the Mediterranean.

In the distance, a large explosion was seen and the others braced themselves for a shockwave.

* * *

Issei and the others were flying at top speeds to Serafall's location. They had just sensed multiple hostile signatures surround the area. A bright flash of light forced them all to cover their eyes. The demigods and hunters were forced to hold on for dear life as a massive shockwave nearly knocked Artemis's chariot out of the skies.

"Looks like they already started," Irina said as she stabilized herself in the air after the shockwave passed.

"Serafall-sama is this powerful?" Ingvild asked as she looked over the land.

"Yeah," Artemis said.

Before them, the entire land was littered with frost and ice. Large patches of frost could be seen for miles. Entire portions of the forest and grassland below them were covered completely in ice. In the distance, a breaking ice field could be seen as the Mediterranean was frozen as well.

"Do you think they got this?" Percy asked.

As Issei was about to speak, he clutched his stomach and moved to wretch.

"Issei!" Irina, Rossweisse, Ingvild, and Artemis called out. Irina immediately appeared by his side.

"Issei, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Issei said.

_Wha-, what is that power? It felt like Nee-chan's and mine but… darker,_ he thought. His eyes widened when he sensed another power. The signature was like that of Cain and Avan's.

"We need to get there now!" Issei said.

"W-what? Why? What's happening?" Kiba asked.

"A demon. Stronger than the one we fought in Crete is making its way to them," Issei said.

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Mitsuki said. Everyone nodded and the devils, demon, and angel took off with Artemis and the Demigods following closely behind them.

* * *

Serafall lowered her staff and looked at her handiwork. A large portion of the Mediterranean had been frozen into an Arctic level ice field. In the distance, a large frozen figure could be seen, half-submerged in the frozen waters.

"Did she kill it?" Kali asked Thor.

"Aye. She did. Hopefully," Thor said, channeling lightning into Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.

Serafall kept herself tense. A feeling of unease had just overcome her after she fired that attack. They were up to something. Around them, the demons had fallen back and were merely circling the skies.

She narrowed her violet eyes at the frozen form of the Ziz Bird. She couldn't sense anything coming from it. But she had to make sure.

"Grass. On me," she said as she began to fly over to the frozen statue. As the two arrived, Serafall swung her staff with such force that the bird's frozen head shattered upon impact.

"Now it's dead," she said, looking down at the shattered frozen skull of the Ziz Bird. "Hey, Grass, we di- GAH!" Serafall looked down and saw a fist embedded in her gut. She was thrown back to Parga where she crashed into a nearby hill, destroying it.

The Gods looked wide-eyed as they just watched someone punch Serafall, who was halfway out to sea, back to Greece.

Out in the ice field, Grass roared and brought his foot down on the intruder. His foot was caught and then, Grass himself was thrown into a mountain.

"What the fuck just happened!?" Thanatos asked.

"Who knows? All I know is that shit's about to hit the fan and it's gonna hit hard!" Kali said, forming several white energy spheres behind her.

Vali looked down at the gods who were powering up to their full power. He saw the Sitri Peerage powering up as well.

"_Albion,_" he said.

**{Yeah. I know.}**

**{VANISHING DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!}**

Vali entered his Balance Breaker and landed next to Kali and Thor. Behind him, Kuroka had assumed her Bijuu form and the others had powered up.

"Get rea-" Hades was interrupted by the sudden arrival of a woman.

The woman in front of them was of a beauty that could only be described as unholy and alluring all at once. She had unblemished skin, long crimson hair that reached down to her thighs. Her eyes were a toxic shade of gold. A shade that reminded Team Vali and Sitri Peerage of Beelzebub.

She wore a short red one strapped battle dress that resembled leather straps on top of a black leotard that had a top that was styled like flames which covered a healthy portion of her rather large breasts but left much to the imagination. On her right arm, was a long black and red sleeve. On her left was a black resistance sleeve. She wore long socks that covered her legs with a leather strap around them. On her feet were a pair of black and red heeled boots. Overall, the beauty surrounding the woman along with the feeling of temptation she exuded made looking at her a sin.

"Who are you?" Thor asked.

The woman turned her gaze to him. She smiled politely before doing a slight curtsy.

"I am Abaddon. A Knight of Hell. Pleased to meet all of you," she said politely. They all tensed when they felt a wave of power come from her. Abaddon held out her hand and red and black energy began to swirl around her palm, coalescing and elongating before eventually becoming a curved black and red sword that was at least half her height.

Her polite smile morphed into a gleeful, sadistic grin. Her eyes glinted with malice as she leveled her blade at them.

"Won't you all play with me?" she asked.

Everyone tensed themselves as this woman stood there smiling like a psychopath. She took one step forward and they all raised their weapons. Wasting no time, the woman appeared in front of Hades, who barely had time to react, and attacked him.

Hades quickly raised his bident in the nick of time as the two were trapped in a deadlock.

Kali appeared behind Abaddon with her trishula and swatted the demoness, sending her crashing through several pillars of the Necromanteion. Thor appeared above her downed form and unleashed several bolts of lightning on her.

Abaddon burst from the smoke and delivered a devastating kick to Thor's side as he was sent flying away. She quickly raised her hand and caught a punch from Saji in his Balance Breaker.

Sona thrust her hands into the air and summoned a large water snake to consume Abaddon. Abaddon looked at the incoming projectile and her golden eyes glowed. The snake shattered into a million droplets of water.

Abaddon felt something hit her in the back as she was sent flying. Above her, Arthur appeared and was prepared to stab through her with his Enochian Sword. Abaddon grinned and summoned her sword to her side. She spun in mid-air, perfectly parrying his blade. She righted herself and landed a ways away from them.

_This is turning out to be fun… Oh, and what's this? More perhaps_, Abaddon's cheeks flushed red at the thought of fighting more people. She began to breathe heavily and moaned a little at the very notion.

Everyone looked at her.

**{Ddraig and Tiamat's host is coming.}** Albion told him.

"_Yeah,"_ Vali said.

As if on cue, a red streak came out of the sky and locked blades with Abaddon. The demon grinned eagerly as Issei forced her to her knee with Ascalon. She began to push back and Issei was knocked away and landed next to Vali. Next to them, the rest of Eden Squad along with Artemis and the demigods arrived.

"Who's the lady?" Issei asked as he transformed into his Balance Breaker.

"She calls herself Abaddon," Vali replied.

Issei looked back at her. The woman's power was foul. It felt bloodthirsty. It had the need to kill everything in its path.

"We need to be careful," Issei said as he gripped Ascalon tightly.

The demoness grinned maniacally as she took off from her position. She landed in the middle and swung her sword, causing them all to fly back. Vali righted himself and appeared in front of Abaddon in a burst of speed. He brought Silver Empress down in an overhead slash towards Abaddon.

The blade was blocked by a darkness tendril. Vali soon found himself being held by the throat as Abaddon's dull eyes looked deeply into his own.

"Are you mocking me?" she asked in a toneless voice.

"Wh- What?" Vali choked.

"Why aren't you using your strongest form?" she asked, tightening her grip around his throat.

"Hey, bitch! Let my boyfriend go!" Mitsuki appeared behind her with the Blades of Fate drawn. She slashed them in an x formation, causing Abaddon to cry out in pain. She dropped Vali and jumped away from the two.

Abaddon looked at Mitsuki intensely as she felt the wounds on her back begin to heal. A twisted grin appeared on her face.

"Maybe you'll give me a good fight," she muttered.

Mitsuki took a step back. Vali gripped her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

"**Heaven Breaker: Code Seraphina! Rapturous Metanoia!**"

"**Abyss Dragon Drive! Oblivion Wing**"

"**Horizon Meteor!**"

"**Aeon Balor: Legend Downfall!**"

"**Blood Dragon Ascension: Sanguine Annihilation!**"

The other members of Eden Squad let loose their strongest attacks on Abaddon, which hit her creating a massive explosion that leveled the ice fields of the Mediterranean.

Thor, Kali, and Hades slammed their weapons on the ground, creating a massive barrier around Epirus, shielding it from the explosion.

"Tch! Those brats got better after our match," Kali said, looking intensely at Issei and his team.

"His growth seems to be unnatural," Hades commented.

"Well, in these circumstances, I'll take what I can get," Thor said.

"Unfortunately, it isn't enough," a deep gravelly voice called out. The gods turned around and their eyes widened. Hades dropped to one knee as he bowed his head in reverence.

Standing before him were three people. One was a man with dark skin, wearing a red suit with no undershirt showing his toned, muscular body. He wore red pants and no shoes. His head was shaved and his eyes were blood red. He was Tartarus, Protogenos of the Abyss.

Next to him on his right was a man. He had long black hair and violet eyes. He wore a black jacket with a dark blue shirt and black pants. The man also wore black oxfords and had an air of sophistication around him. He was Erebos, Protogenos of Darkness.

The woman on Tartarus's left was an eerie beauty. She had extremely pale skin, almost white. Her eyes were pitch black and she had long thigh-length black hair. She wore a black uniform similar to that of a Japanese Schoolgirl. She was Nyx, Protogenos of Night.

"My lords. My lady," Hades said.

"Get up, Hades. Now's not the time," Erebos told him.

"Put the barrier down," Nyx said. The gods raised an eyebrow.

"I have an old score to settle," she said. They nodded and pulled the barrier down.

Abaddon rammed her fist into Issei's Abyss Dragon armor, breaking straight through it. The boy gasped out in pain as he was sent rocketing back. Irina appeared behind him and caught him.

As Abaddon was about to take off to them, she sensed something behind her and turned to see Nyx's fist impacting her chin. Abaddon's head snapped upward as she was sent flying into the sky. The red-haired demon righted herself in mid-air and her eyes widened when she heard someone behind her.

"This is for our sister you psychotic ginger bitch!" Erebus said as he kicked Abaddon to the shore.

Abaddon slowly got to her feet and dusted herself off. She grinned and threw her head back, laughing an insane laugh.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S IT! IT FEELS SO GOOOOOOODDDD!~" she said.

"Won't feel good after this!" she looked and saw Tartarus roundhouse kick her, sending her flying off into the distance.

Tartarus stood there and watched Abaddon crash several miles north of Parga. As he was about to go after her, he froze when he sensed massive energy that dwarfed the combined might of him, Nyx, and Erebos enter his domain.

"Red Dragon! Go into Tartarus and stop Lilith before she reaches Cocytus! She used this as a distraction!" he yelled.

"But what about the demons out here!" Rossweisse yelled as the demons began to move from their inactivity and flew down in swarms.

"We'll handle it!" Serafall said, holding her stomach and landing in front of them.

"Don't underestimate us just because you got both Hyodous on your side," Saji grinned.

"We'll leave it up to you guys!" Issei said.

"Arthur, Kuroka, and I will stay here too," Vali said as he hovered in front of them with his Balance Breaker. "Bikou, you and the others head with Issei through the doors of Tartarus."

Issei nodded and he and Eden Squad flew to Thanatos.

"The Doors are located inside the Necromanteion. Just head down the stairs and go down the halls until you see a large set of double doors," he instructed.

The group nodded and descended into the Necromanteion.

* * *

**The entrance of Cocytus, Tartarus**

* * *

Typhon was hailed as one of the most powerful beings in Greek Mythology. A Deity Class Monster God with the power to match the God of the Heavens, Zeus in one on one combat. Now, he was on his knees, injured. His army of monsters laid dead around him. His red eyes were trained on one woman before him. He growled in hatred as the woman smirked. He knew who this was. That god, Hephaestus, had married her.

Aglaia. Or if his father was to be believed, Lilith. The Princess of all Demons.

Lilith stepped forward and placed a hand on Typhon's massive face.

"You put up a semi-decent fight but in the end, you couldn't even get me to use an attack on you. If you're called a God with that level of power, then what can you call me?" Lilith said, stroking his cheek. Behind her, a hissing noise was heard as Echidna sprung from the shadows to strike at Lilith.

Lilith, sensing her approach, snapped her fingers and Echidna exploded in a shower of blood before she could reach her.

Typhon's eyes widened in rage at the sight of his wife being killed before his very eyes.

"You bitch!" he roared as he swung his arm. The ground below them exploded as Typhon grinned. His grin was promptly wiped off his face when he saw Lilith holding his punch back with one finger.

"So it's going to be like that? Even after I was trying to be nice," she muttered. She flicked his hand, pouring some of her strength into the flick. Every bone in Typhon's had shattered as a sickening crunch was heard. The monster god howled in pain.

Lilith flew up to his face and grabbed his forehead. She thrust out her other hand and a violet glow came from it. A purple light came from Typhon's eyes and mouth as the monster god was being destroyed from the inside out.

Lilith dropped him, causing the ground to tremor as Typhon's head hit the ground.

"Milady, we have more guards incoming. They're being led by Makaria and the demigod son of Hades," Astaroth said.

Lilith looked to the icy prison. The river of lamentation ran through it and the howls of the imprisoned could be heard as some of the worst punishments on Earth were applied. Lilith smiled. Just what she needed.

_A prison riot_, she thought. Lilith raised her hand and sent a blast of violet light towards the icy hell. Her light ripped through the walls of Cocytus, damaging the prison immensely.

She disappeared from her spot and reappeared, hovering above the ruined prison. Only the uppermost portions of the Great Prison were damaged. But it released enough prisoners to make a difference. She amplified her voice using her miasma.

"**HEAR ME! You who have been cast down here. Do you not seek revenge upon those who imprisoned you!?**" Lilith asked.

One by one, the prisoners rose to their feet. Upon hearing their words, they began to murmur in agreement. The murmurs grew louder until roars of approval could be heard from the prisoners.

"**Then take this newfound freedom! Free your brethren and strike your vengeance at the GODS!**" Lilith yelled. She telekinetically grabbed a Draugr and lifted him over her head.

"**RIOT!**" she roared.

The prisoners roared in approval as they began to lay waste to the icy prison. The guards tried to apprehend and return the prisoners to their cells but there were too many and they were being overpowered.

Lilith landed in the courtyard and made her way over to the warden, who was in his office at the time of the blast. Behind her, Astaroth appeared.

"Are you sure that was wise, Milady?" she asked.

"It is of no concern, Astaroth. They're simply cannon fodder for what's to come," Lilith replied. Lilith shook the warden awake.

The warden groaned and found himself staring into the blue eyes of Lilith. He began to struggle to escape, which only served to have Lilith tighten her grip around his throat.

"Where is the Dragon Eater?" Lilith asked.

"Go to He- AGGHHHHHHH!" the warden screamed as Lilith shoved her hand through his stomach. However, there was no blood, only red light.

"Right now, I'm holding your soul… Hurts right?" she asked. "I wonder what will happen if I say, began carving a work of art into it?"

Inside, Lilith's hands grew tendrils of darkness and began to cut deep into the man's soul. The man howled, feeling a pain that he couldn't describe. The closest word to what he was experiencing was hell. And it was, for Lilith was currently skinning his soul.

"OKAY OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU WHERE HE IS! PLEASE STOP!"

Lilith pulled her hand out and dropped him. She stomped on his leg, snapping it in half, causing him to scream.

"Tell me," she ordered.

"He's in the bottom portion. It's the deepest area. It's where we keep all the most dangerous prisoners!" the warden said.

"Good, thank you for your service," Lilith said.

"You'll let me go now right?" the warden sain, hope shining in his eyes.

"Of course!~" Lilith said, smiling.

"Yes! Th-" the warden didn't finish snapped to the side with a sick crunch. He dropped to the floor dead.

"Come, Astaroth," Lilith said as she walked into the depths of the prison.

"As you command my princess," Astaroth replied, following after her.

* * *

Issei and the others descended into the Greco-Roman abyss. The entrance to Tartarus wasn't what they expected. It wasn't a pit as legends described it to be. It was an elevator. An elevator with dark iron doors. Upon arriving inside, Issei pressed the button at the bottom and the group began their descent. The further they went, the darker it got. The air was starting to feel slightly heavier than the air of the Underworld.

After several minutes of waiting, a beeping sound was heard signaling that they had arrived in Tartarus. The doors opened revealing complete and utter chaos. The forces of Hades were fighting against the monsters, prisoners, deities, and titans. In the distance was the corpse of the Monster God, Typhon. A fireball came flying in Issei's direction but was deflected by Rossweisse, who raised a magical barrier around them.

"We have to help them!" Issei said.

"We have no other choice! If we want to reach Cocytus, we'll have to fight our wat through!" Artemis yelled as she readied her bow. Her hunters armed themselves as they drew their arrows.

"Hunters! Fire!"

A hail of silver arrows rained down upon the prisoners, impaling all of them.

Eden Squad leaped into action slicing, burning, and smiting every monster in their path.

Irina ducked as a Cyclops swung his arm. She formed a light spear and stabbed it through his throat.

"GRAAAOOO!" Irina turned and saw a manticore heading straight for her. She raised Hauteclere ready to slice the beast in half when it was blasted away by crimson energy.

"Ingvild," Irina said, smiling.

The devil looked at her and smiled before turning to the hoard of monsters that were heading towards them. She raised her palm in the air and formed a massive blood-red ball of energy. Her orange eyes pulsated, shifting to red as all the monsters froze in place, feeling their blood constricting, fighting against them.

Ingvild threw the ball at the hoard, creating a large explosion that shook the area.

"Behind you!" Ingivld turned to see Artemis holding up an iron scythe with her silver daggers.

Her red eyes widened upon seeing him.

"Kronos!" Artemis yelled.

"An Olympian… and my dear foolish granddaughter to boot. I shall defile you as my first act of revenge against my children," Kronos said, licking his lips as he looked her body up and down.

Artemis felt a shiver of disgust run down her spine as her grandfather molested her with his eyes.

As Kronos began to push harder forcing Artemis to her knees, a foot slammed into his face, sending him flying into the river of Phlegethon.

"Issei!" Artemis said with wide eyes.

"Are you alright, Artemis?" Issei said, offering her his hand.

"Yeah, but it's not over yet," she said, looking in the direction of an enraged Titan Lord.

"Red Dragon!" Kronos said, his golden eyes flaring in anger. Kronos leaped towards Issei, his scythe raised, ready to kill him. Issei and Artemis dodged the attack. Ingvild raised her hands into the air and began to sing a melody.

Her targets were the dragons and all draconic type enemies in her vicinity. Issei felt a rush of power enter him as he looked and saw all enemy dragons begin to fall to the ground.

Issei flashed Ingvild a smile, causing her to blush slightly. He turned his attention back to Kronos, who was fighting Kiba, Gasper, Irina, and Bikou at the same time. The Titan Lord may have been defeated by Zeus but he still had years of experience, far outstripping any of them.

Kronos swung his scythe to deflecting Ascalon and kicked Issei back. He felt pain erupt on his side as Kiba sliced through his torso with his Enochian Blade.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Kronos said, slamming his foot into the ground. Kiba rolled out of the way barely dodging the attack. Gasper appeared in front of Kronos's face in his Balor Aeon Form and punched Kronos, breaking his nose.

"ENOUGH!" the titan lord roared as they were all pushed back by a golden aura.

Kronos appeared in front of Rossweisse, ready to bifurcate her with his scythe when a hail of light spears came from the skies of Tartarus, turning the titan lord into a pincushion.

"Gahk!" Kronos coughed up blood and fell to his knees.

"NOW FINISH IT!" a voice yelled.

Rossweisse slammed the sharpened end of Misteleinn through the Titan Lord's throat, killing him.

"Rossweisse! You okay?" Issei said, landing next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Eden Squad ran up to them but froze when they saw two familiar beings land in front of them. They instantly recognized Risa who was wiping monster and Titan blood off her sword.

But the next person made them all apprehensive. The man had pale skin, long black hair, and red eyes. His ears were pointed like an elf's and he wore detailed dark robes. On his back were four wings. The members of Eden Squad, except for Ingvild, Gasper, and Rossweisse, all knew this man.

"Kokabiel…," Irina said, tightening her grip around Hauteclere.

Kokabiel looked over at Eden Squad before his eyes rested on Issei.

"I see now that you are a cambion, young Red Dragon," he said.

"Are you here to fight us?" Issei asked, ready to summon into his demon form should Kokabiel make a move.

"No, he's not," Risa said. "The old man is here to help us."

Her statement confused them. Why would Kokabiel help them? Didn't he want war?

"Why are you helping us? The last time we saw you, you tried to kill all of us to start another Great War. Now that Lilith started a new one, why do you want to help us stop it?" Kiba asked his entire body tense.

"I know but this is one war I don't want to happen again. What Lilith started isn't the Great War, this new war will make the entirety of the Great War, that entire war with Qlippoth look like a playground fight in comparison. We need to stop her before it begins," Kokabiel said.

"Hasn't the war already started?" Mitsuki asked.

"No, the war has barely begun. I saw it… the endgame. That _thing_ Lilith has on her. I know you've felt it Red Dragon Emperor," Kokabiel said.

Issei nodded.

"We need to stop her before she can give it to Samael. If Samael reaches his full power, then none of us will be able to stop him from breaking free," he said.

"Do you know where he is?" Irina asked.

"Yes, follow me," Kokabiel said spreading his eight wings.

"Hey, old man, catch!" Risa said, throwing a vial in his direction. Kokabiel caught it and inspected its contents. Inside the vial was white and violet whispy energy swirling erratically inside.

"Azazel's Grace?" he asked, looking at her.

"Azazel-sama said that if I ran into you to give you this. To get you back up to strength to help us fight," she said.

"Keh, damn bastard. Always twenty steps ahead," Kokabiel said, opening the vial and inhaling the contents.

Kokabiel glowed violet for a few seconds. Two yellow bursts of light erupted from his lower back and solidified into wings. Issei and the others watched in fascination as they felt Kokabiel's power keep rising.

"Full power again," he said as he unleashed the full force of his aura. Issei and the others were blown back by the intensity. Every monster was vaporized from the aura's intensity.

Irina stared wide-eyed. This was the full power of the Elder Angels!?

**[The damn bastard is as strong as Albion and I in our primes…]** Ddraig muttered. Issei nodded at his words.

"All right brats! Time to go!" Kokabiel said, taking off. Artemis summoned her chariot and the hunters, Bikou, Le Fay, and Fenrir boarded it while Eden Squad and Risa took off after Kokabiel.

* * *

**Cocytus, Level DCLXVI**

* * *

Lilith and Astaroth arrived at a massive lake of black water. Looking down, Lilith kicked a rock into it. The rock as frozen upon contact before shattering.

_The lake of Cocytus and that little shit Dante thought that this was Hell…_, her blue eyes traveled to the island at a center. There nailed to a steel cross was a grotesque being. He was blindfolded with streams of blood flowing down them. Fangs jutted from his mouth. His silver hair was bloodied and torn and his black disfigured wings which looked like a mix of dragon and angel fluttered tirelessly, sending winds all over the chamber. His lower half was that of an eastern dragon and was staked to the cross with several silver spikes that had several Enochian Runes engraved on them.

"There's our target," Lilith said, looking at the being. "Samael, the Dragon Eater."

Astaroth shivered as she looked at the being. He reeked of malice she thought was only found on Alastor and Abaddon.

"Come," Lilith said as her wings manifested and the two took off to the island. As they made their way, several shades manifested and began to attack them. Lilith's eyes glowed red and the shades were reduced to dust while the rest were sliced into pieces by Astaroth.

"Pitiful," she said as she landed on the islands. So much for security. To lower beings, those shades would have been trouble but she wasn't weak. "Samael," she said.

The Dragon Eater roused from his sleep and turned his head in the direction of the voice that he had heard. A familiar voice. The voice of his older sister's daughter. What was she doing here?

"So, the Demon Princess takes time out of her busy schedule to come and visit me? I'm flattered," he said. His voice was grating and sounded like a million nails being dragged across a chalkboard.

"I came to free you," Lilith said.

"To do what? To turn me into a weapon like the others have?" Samael asked, anger present within his voice.

"No, I come bearing gifts. Of course, these gifts come at a price," Lilith said.

"Oh, and what is the price of these… gifts?" he said.

"Your allegiance," she said.

"My allegiance? Whatever for, _Princess?_" he sneered.

"I am waging a war against the gods. It just so happens to include the humans and Heaven as well," Lilith said.

"Interesting," Samael said. "What's in it for me," he asked.

"Well, your freedom for one. Freedom from Cocytus and your curse," Lilith said.

"Lies! Gabriel's curse cannot be broken!" he roared.

"By others, because they are too weak, There is one person however who can and they have so _graciously _donated something to shatter that curse," Lilith said, summoning the vial from its storage.

Sensing the contents, Samael recoiled in fear. _HER!? _

"Grace… ," Samael said.

"Yes. Oh and if you do accept on the off chance, you'll finally have a shot at getting back at Aunt Gabriel for putting you down here as well as the humans you'll be able to kill," she offered.

Samael pondered her offer for a few minutes. Killing humans and exacting his revenge upon his angelic whore of a sister? Count him in. But there had to be more.

"What does my allegiance entail exactly?" he said.

"You will follow my commands. You will be given a legion of demons to lead," she said. "You will help me build a new world in which there is peace. A single united world in which no one will have to suffer. Not even you. It will be Paradise," Lilith said. "So are you in?"

Samael went silent. Paradise? Peace? He laughed at the notion. "Hahaha! Peace is but a silly dream for the weak, girl!" Samael said.

"Oh, I know. Peace isn't eternal nor is paradise attainable with this current system. It is corrupt. Broken. Flawed. People suffer due to the greed, lust, and gluttony of the Gods. And thus, it must be corrected. Like a forest, this world will burn to ash and a new one will be built on top of it. Free from suffering. A world where you can be free, Samael," Lilith said.

The more Lilith said the more Samael was interested. A world where he could attain freedom. A world where he could be free from humans?

"What of the humans and dragons?"

"All those who are against us, I give you full permission to kill. However, any human or dragon who joins us is not to be touched. Understood?"

Samael grumbled but the deal was acceptable. Anything to free him from his bondage.

"I accept your deal, Princess Lilith," Samael said, bowing his head.

Lilith smiled victoriously. She held out her hands as a violet light began to glow brightly. The light twisted and swirled before crystallizing into a white sword. Its hilt and guard were black. The blade seemed to give off the appearance of diamonds that glittered endlessly in the dark.

"The Jeweled Sword…," Astaroth said as Lilith held the blade in the air.

The sword began to glow violet. A feeling of power washed over all of Tartarus as every being, monster, god froze.

Kokabiel narrowed his eyes as he beat his wings harder, increasing his speed.

Lilith swung the blade, shattering the chains restraining Samael. Samael dropped to the ground, slithering to her.

"Give it to me," he said.

Lilith popped open the vial and allowed the Grace to exit it. Samael opened his mouth as the Grace flew into it. After that, the world went white.

Eden Squad, Kokabiel, Risa, Artemis, and the others held on as a massive shockwave erupted from Level DCLXVI. A wave f black and red energy flew past them and traveled out of Tartarus.

In Heaven, Gabriel was reading calmly when she felt it. Her eyes unfocused as her power began to leak out. All of Heaven began to tremor as Gabriel's power grew. Eventually, her power began to shake all of Creation as the very foundations of all reality began to break.

Restraining herself, Gabriel spread her wings and flew down to Earth.

Astaroth lowered her ice shield as the light died down. Lilith stood there unfazed, her hair blowing lightly in the wind. Where Samael stood was a new being. This new being was no longer grotesque or hideous. No, the man before them was extremely handsome. He was tall and wore a blue long coat that exposed his chest. He wore silver gauntlets and silver boots. His silver hair was no longer dirty or bloodied, it was lustrous once more.

Samael reached up to take off his blindfold. The Seraph opened his eyes, revealing pitch-black irises with a slight red tint. From his back sprung, ten wings spread from his back. The five wings on his right were white while the five on his left were pitch black. Samael grinned maliciously.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he said as he began to release obscene amounts of power, warping the very space-time foundations of Tartarus.

Samael, the Venom of God, after hundreds of thousands of years, was finally free.

* * *

**Reviews**

**The Soldier of No Sorrow: Oh my fucking Godzilla, IT'S RODAN**

**Yes, yes it is. I believe that you were the only person who noticed that it was so kudos to you!**

**OuroborosDragon: I don't trust Rudianos, he's been acting suspiciously like ever since he was elected to be the head the DxD Operations. Plus he easily dismissed Annabeth's concerns of this being a possible decoy, which unsurprisingly it turned out to be a decoy. A good commander will look at a situation and think out all the possible outcomes, plan ahead to outmanoeuvre the enemy's strategy and adapt when plans fail but most importantly listen to other's council because they might see and pick up things you don't. So he's either a traitor working as a mole for the enemy, he's being threatened or blackmailed or he's just stupidly arrogant.**

**Someone really needs to rally the council together and get their fricken heads out of their asses so they can fight the demons together. Someone like Sirzechs for instance, he's kind and caring towards others so he won't be bias to one faction even towards his own, he's already an experienced leader, he's both extremely powerful as super devil and very cunning. While he does have a laid back personality and prefers taking things at he's own pace and rather sort conflicts out by talking rather than fighting. However when shit hits the fan he always gets serious and would do whatever it takes to end a conflict.**

**Since the Celestial Council is a relatively young governing body and they went into session without creating things such as committees to oversee decisions and such so their system is kind of... how should I say this... broken? On top of that, do you remember a couple of chapters ago when he was arguing with the Greeks? Yeah, there's your motive right there.**

**Yukikaze101: I'll miss Murayama being in the harem, but I agree Ingvild makes more sense in this story. And you chose a helluva moment to cliffhanger on.**** :D**

**Hmm, I'm sorry if you liked her but thanks for agreeing. And also, thank you for that compliment. I needed that after the shit day I had.**

**AnimeFan0216: Damn! What a dumb decision, Rudianos still insisted to attack the outpost which is a decoy. Really, he should stop underestimating Lilith. Just because he is a god of war doesn't mean his tactics are perfect**

**Yes, arrogance is his fatal flaw. He really should have at least considered Annabeth's concern.**

**Scrumblenut: ****Alright, caught back up. Damn FF messages not sending. Anyway, the last chapter was good, it showed how everything was ending up. I will say, however, that the way that Rudianos was elected was a bit off. After all that has happened, at least someone would have been keeping an eye on everything to make sure he wasnt being a stupid piece of shit, and would have tried to make a back up plan for if what has now happened would have at least been delayed. But at the same time, this kind of shit happens in actual politics, so oh well. Looking forward to the next chapter. Take care**

**Hmm, like I said, earlier, they didn't have time to create committees and organizations to maintain the integrity of the system. Also, since I did base this off real-life politics, please expect more dumb shit to happen until someone on the council has enough and calls for drastic reform. And take care to you too as well.**

* * *

**Well, that was the end. Next chapter, will Eden Squad be able to stop Samael from escaping Tartarus? Next time on Ti- I'm not done. Kokabiel's back everyone and he's fighting on their side! I guess even survival instincts can overpower one's desire for war. I think that's it for this chapter. Please remember to review. Also fav and follow if you enjoyed it. Have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours!~**


	36. The Venom and The Messenger

**We ain't rebootin shit boys and girls! Sorry about that. That was depression and sheer shock talking. For those of you who don't know, I published a story two weeks ago called D'Arc Is Not Evil! A RWBY story that follows the Jaune gets betrayed and left for dead after his transcripts are discovered plot with my own twist and was inspired by A Light in the D'Arc by Omnyknyght. The story surpassed Midnight within the week and is still climbing. So that destroyed my morale when I saw a story that I literally pulled out of my ass surpass a story that took me a few months worth of courage gathering to post. Anyway, that's my little piece about the whole reboot thing. Right now, I'm happy that I have a story that has 350 follows! It shows improvement on my part. Soooo, go read it! Also read my other stories!**

**Another thing I really _need _to address. The power scaling! And for some reason the cosmology? I don't know why I need to explain how the cosmology works but okee. Anyway, do not EVER think that every DEMON in this story is as powerful as the "Primordial" gods in this story. There are only SEVEN, previously eight, demons that can match the strongest elder gods. Also, take into account that these people know how powerful the other is. They lived together billions of years ago on the Primordial Earth. Before our own feeble notions of how powerful they are existed. They existed before the concept of God was even a thing so the Elder Gods didn't think of themselves as Gods back then. Remember, the concept of a God is a human concept. To each other, they're people. People with powers but people. If you want an analogy, watch My Hero Academia. A world where everyone, almost everyone, has superpowers. That's what pre-human, pre-Holy War earth looked like. They didn't care about their powers until the war broke out. Yes, there are some demons that can match them but trust me, if I pit Amatsu-Mikaboshi or Shiva against old Beelzeboy from Season 1, Beelzebub would be nothing but a red paste on the ground and Ama-chan would be back at Yomi for tea time with Izanami. I'm not going to explain the Cosmology here. That in and of itself could be a chapter. So go to dxdfanon. fandom ****wiki / User _ blog : CrimsonSOng / Midnightverse _ Stuff. Kay! Also, there are 14 worlds in Hindu Cosmology. There are 7 upper and 7 lower. And one more thing, the Seven Princes of Hell are basically Elder Demon Gods. They were the first demons born after Lilith and she is the apex of demonkind. There is no demon stronger than Lilith in this fic. I think that's it. Yay... new chapter... woo...**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Cocytus, June 13, 2020, 3:45 PM; Current Time: 2 minutes and 5 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Lilith watched amused as Samael flexed his full power, shaking the very foundations of Tartarus itself. Her white hair was blowing in the gale-force winds that came from the Seraph. Astaroth stood behind Lilith using her for protection.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally!" Samael said, closing his fist with a gleeful smile. Samael turned his eyes on Lilith and his grin grew wider. Without warning, Samael threw his fist in Lilith's direction with the clear intention of taking her head off with a single punch.

His eyes widened when she caught it in her hand. Samael fell to his knees, trying to free himself, pulling to get out of Lilith's increasingly tight grip. He looked into her eyes in defiance. The defiance quickly faded when he saw her eyes. Her white hair began to levitate and a black mark began to form around her right eye. Her once blue eyes were now red and a violet, oppressive aura began to press down on the entirety of the deepest level of Cocytus. The ice began to crack and the very cavern began to cave in on them.

"Do not think that just because you are at full power that you can defeat me, worm," Lilith said, tightening her grip. A crunching sound was heard as Samael's bones began to break. She let him go and Samael rubbed his hand as he began directing his grace, healing his bones.

"Just testing you. 65 million years and you haven't lost your edge haven't you Lilith?" Samael grinned. "So the vilest demon in existence will be my boss eh? I can work with that."

Astaroth looked warily at the Seraph. This being in front of them almost made her princess unleash her true form.

"So, are we going or not?" Samael asked impatiently.

"We are. You, however, will need to get out of here the old fashion way," Lilith said, powering down.

"What!?" Samael said in a rage.

"What better way to see what you're now capable of than to have you fight your way out of here, right?" Lilith said. "Meet us at the base of Mount Korab in northern Macedonia," Lilith said as she and Astaroth disappeared in a plume of black smoke.

Samael growled. That little bitch! He then grinned. He sensed the energy signatures coming. At least he'll have some fun doing this. Samael went and sat on a rock, his black eyes staring to the shore on the other side of the waters of Lamentation and waited for his guests to arrive.

* * *

Issei and the others flew as fast as they could after feeling that shockwave emanate from the lower levels of Cocytus.

"How much longer until we get there?" Issei asked Kokabiel.

"Not long now," the elder angel responded as he beat all ten of his wings simultaneously, producing a boom and disappearing from view. Risa did the same. Issei sighed and increased his speed alongside the others.

The group traveled beyond hypersonic speeds, everything around them becoming a blur. As they traveled, they were pushed back by another oppressive power source, this one far surpassed the one they felt earlier.

"Lilith," Kokabiel said.

"Is that the power level of her true form?" Risa asked as she hovered in mid-air.

"Not even close. Right now, she's about as strong as Bael and Samael at their full powers," Kokabiel said. Kokabiel turned around to face Eden Squad and the Hunters.

"Go back. Go tell whoever's wating on the other side of the doors to prepare to restrain the Venom of God," Kokabiel said.

"What? What about you?" Artemis asked.

"Risa and I will distract Samael while you all get reinforcements," he said.

"Risa-san, will you be-" Kiba was cut off when she gave them all a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine," she said, releasing a small bit of her power.

The groups nodded and teleported out of Cocytus.

"What will we actually do?" Risa asked Kokabiel.

"We're going to bait him. If we need to, we'll take him directly to the others," he said.

"This sounds like a bad idea," she said as she drew Tatsumasa.

"Yeah. But we have no other choice," Kokabiel said, summoning several light swords. The two beat their wings and continued to make their way into the depths of Tartarus.

After a few minutes of flying, Kokabiel and Risa arrived at the banks of the Lake of Lamentation. The frigid waters swirled as the corpses of shades could be seen floating in the water. At the very center was the island where Samael was imprisoned. Said angel sat on a rock with a smile on his face and his hand supporting his head.

"Kokaine! You're finally here along with Raphael's little pet!" Samael said.

"Why you litt-" Risa moved to attack him but Kokabiel held his arm out in front of her. He looked down at her to get her to back down seeing that her tail was frizzed and her ears were sticking up in anger.

"So Samael, you're free is that it? What did you have to do sell your soul to Lilith?" Kokabiel asked.

"No, not really," he said, standing up.

"What does she want you to do then?" Risa asked.

"That's private information between the contractor and the contractee," Samael said. "Though I can tell you one thing. It will be bloody. Humans dead. Dragons dead. It will all be glorious all in the name of… peace," the Fallen Seraph told them.

"Hmph," Kokabiel said. "That's bullshit."

"What?" Samael turned to look at him.

"I said that's bullshit! Why would she need the help of Gabriel's punching bag to bring peace!" Kokabiel said.

Samael narrowed his eyes as he bristled in rage upon hearing _her_ name. That accursed angelic whore who happened to be their sister.

"You know it was pretty funny watching it. You getting the ever-living shit beat out of you by Ane-ue," Kokabiel said.

"What are you doing?" Risa asked pointedly as she saw Samael start to shake.

"Pissing him off. It's the only way he'll come after us. Try it," he offered as he threw more insults.

"Hey, Samael, did Gabby-nee ever come visit you down here?" Kokabiel asked. "You know back when you were chained. Did she ever use you as her punching bag?"

"Your jokes are crude Kokabiel. I'm surprised Azazel let you control the army," Samael said dryly.

"Well Joe seemed to like it," Kokabiel retorted.

"Who's Joe?" Samael asked.

"Joe mama!" Kokabiel said.

"She's your mother too," Samael said.

Risa stood off to the side as Kokabiel tried, and failed, to piss Samael off. She had enough of this sorry attempt to aggravate the Seraph so she tried to do it herself.

"Hey, Sammy!" she yelled. The two arguing angels turned over to her.

"What fleabag?" Samael said, not even paying her any attention.

Risa's tail stiffened at the insult.

"What was it like?" she asked.

"What was what like?" Samael said.

"What was it like being Gabriel-sama's personal bitch!?" she said.

Samael looked at her, his anger returning.

"What did you say?" he growled lowly.

"I mean being Gabriel-sama's little bitch must have been some experience huh? You got to be her personal man pig, her servant, did everything for her. I bet you even got to be her personal dildo. You're not even worth calling something like that. Dildos place higher than you on the scale," Risa said.

Kokabiel's jaw dropped.

"Shut it," Samael said.

"No wonder they banished you down here. You're the embarrassment of Heaven. I bet even Metatron-sama hates being related to you. No wonder she ran off with the Sin of Wrath," Risa kept going.

Samael kept shaking in growing anger.

"You know my most favorite story that was told in Heaven. The part where you started crying like the little beta cuck you are when Gabriel-sama banished you down here," she said.

"I'm going to FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE RODENT SLUT!" Samael yelled as he spread his wings and took off towards them.

"Good job kid now let's go!" Kokabiel said as he took off. Risa followed after him as they flew out of Level DCLXVI.

* * *

**Parga**

* * *

Eden Squad and the Hunters teleported to the Doors of Tartarus and exited the building. Behind them, the forces of Hades and the prisoners within Tartarus continued their battle but the prisoners were being overwhelmed as the Sparti led by the demigod son of Hades and Makaria, Goddess of Blessed Death, pushed back against them. The Titans, Hyperion, and Koios fell against the combined might of the children of the Lord of the Dead. As the Doors ascended, Issei felt Lilith's energy signature disappear from Tartarus.

"She's gone. She left," Issei told them. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons preparing for anything that could be thrown at them.

As the doors opened, a boom caused them all to jump. The group ran outside and saw Nyx standing over an extremely injured Abaddon. The red-headed demon looked at her with a malicious smile as she taunted her.

"Come on Nyxie! Kill me! Or are you as cowardly and weak as you were during the Holy War when I carved and violated little Elpis? Oh, her screams were so glorious. How she begged for me to stop as I violated her tight litt-" she was cut off as Nyx planted her foot into her face, shattering Abaddon's jaw.

"I'm going to rip you to pieces!" Nyx roared as the entire area became dark. Darkness enshrouded the entire land as Nyx raised her hand. The darkness suddenly traveled towards her palm and condensed into a small sphere.

Nyx brought the swirling sphere down with the intention of destroying Abaddon, however a violet barrier formed around Abaddon, deflecting Nyx's attack.

"What!? But my princess, I ca-," she was cut off as a series of emotions ran through her face going from indignance to fear and eventually settled on resignation.

"Looks like we'll have to continue this little battle later, Nyxie!~ You two Red Dragon Emperor, White Dragon Emperor!~" Abaddon said as she shakily stood to her feet, using her sword as support. Her eyes glowed for a second before she dispersed in a red mist resembling blood.

"DAMMNIT!" Nyx slammed her fist on the ground, sending tremors across the entirety of Epirus.

"Mother," Thanatos said as he looked towards Eden Squad and Artemis and her hunters.

"Bikou," Vali said as they landed.

"Issei-kun!" Kuroka ran over and began to check Issei over.

"I'm fine," he said, looking her in the eye.

"We're fine too, Kuroka," Irina said, looking blankly at her.

"What happened down there?" Serafall asked as Sona finished healing her.

"Lilith freed Samael," Issei said. "Kokabiel and Risa are down there right now distracting him while we regroup and head down there to restrain him."

"Wait, did you say Kokabiel?" Sona said, snapping her head in their direction.

"Yeah, apparently, he's on our side now," Mitsuki said.

"Are you sure about that?" Serafall asked as she stood to her feet.

"No, we're not," Kiba said as he clenched his fists.

"However, we need all the allies we can get," Vali said, looking at Issei.

"Prepare yourselves. Kokabiel and Risa will be here in a couple of minutes so rest up. In two minutes, we'll intercept them in Tartarus," Erebus said.

Eden Squad nodded gratefully as they sat down to get some R and R. Bikou, Le Fay, and Fenrir all sat down to get healed by Kuroka. Serafall went off to call Sirzechs to inform him of the situation. As Hades sat trying to contact Nico and Makaria, a CC manifested in front of him with the symbol of Zeus.

"Zeus, what is it?" he asked.

"_This is going to sound weird so I need you to stay calm,_" Zeus said over the link.

"You saying that doesn't make me feel any better," Hades said, catching the attention of the others.

"Who is it?" Thor asked.

"It's Zeus," Hades said.

"What does Dad want?" Thalia asked him.

"_Is that Thalia?"_ Zeus asked.

"Yeah, here, let me put you on speaker," Hades said, altering a few runes.

"_Alright, can you all hear me?_" Zeus said, his voice amplified by CC.

"Yeah," Serafall answered.

"Alright, Poseidon told me that there's a large storm in your area," he said.

"Can't you stop it, Zeus-sama?" Gasper asked.

"_No, I can't. Poseidon can't stop it either. Whatever it is, it's something unnatural. Thor,_" Zeus said.

"Yes, I can sense it," Thor said.

"Can you stop it, Thor-sama?" Rossweisse asked.

"No, it doesn't even feel natural," he said, his eyes glowing blue with lightning crackling around them.

Irina froze. Her eyes grew wide as she felt an immense pressure enter her mind. Her wings sprung out of her back unconsciously and her eyes glowed purple as a voice entered her head.

"_Irina!_"

"_Az-nee! Is that you?"_ Irina communicated mentally.

"_I need you and the others to get out of there now!_" she yelled.

"_Wait, what's going on?_" Irina asked her.

"_Gabriel is coming in your direction. Get out of there!_" Azrael urged.

"_O- Okay!"_ she replied.

"_If you don't believe me, try to sense for her power,_" Azrael said before her presence disappeared from her mind.

Irina closed her eyes and felt for any angelic grace sources nearby. She found a harsh white light in the direction west of them and focused her senses on it. A decision she soon regretted. Irina dropped to her knees and vomited her lunch and some blood onto the ground.

"Irina!" Issei rushed over to her and knelt next to her. He patted her back as Irina wiped her mouth and looked fearfully in the direction west of them.

_W- what!? That's Gabriel-sama!? Th- There's no end to it!_ She thought as she remembered how she felt sensing Gabriel's power.

"E- Everyone! We have to get out of here now!" Irina yelled.

Nyx turned to her and nodded. Tartarus and Erebus began to charge power.

"We know who's coming girl. Everyone brace yourselves," Erebus said.

"For what?" Hades said, having long since cut the link with Zeus.

The earth shook as immense winds swept across the entire area. Azure bolts of lightning bolts rained down from the sky and struck the hills, leveling them as well as destroying massive portions of the mountains in Parga. The city itself was under the barrage of the growing storm as the panicked screams of its citizens could be heard. Rain began to pelt the area hard. Serafall created a dome of transparent ice to shield them all from the torrential downfall.

The Mediterranean Ocean, which was once calm, was now churning angrily as large waves several tens of feet high crashed onto the coasts of Epirus. The sea stacks were consumed and the ice field broke. Water spouts rose from the water and raged across the sea and disappeared after a few minutes before being replaced by a new one.

"What's going on?" Thor asked.

"Gabriel," Erebus said as he raised a massive multi-layered barrier with intricate Greek Symbols. Nyx and Tartarus raised a similar barrier surrounding the one Erebus had erected.

"Hades, Serafall, Kali, Thor, help us," Nyx ordered. The aforementioned beings nodded as they raised their own barriers on top of the ones erected by the Elder Gods.

Lightning struck the barrier, nearly shattering it as the Leviathan and the Gods were all forced to their knees as they struggled to maintain the barrier. Massive quakes shook the entire area as the land opened and fissures spread across.

"Thanatos, Hades! Open the fucking gates!" Nyx barked as she moved to reinforce the barrier.

Around them, the Earth was being torn apart as mountains crumbled, hills were destroyed, and the city of Parga was being devastated by what seemed to be a hurricane of an unknown category alongside seismic tremors.

"But mother-!?" he was cut off by Erebus's next words.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE BOY!?" he yelled.

Thanatos shook his head rapidly and ran over to the Doors of Tartarus.

"Ανοίξτε τις πόρτες των νεκρών," Thanatos chanted. The Doors of Tartarus were forced open as a shockwave was expelled from the door.

"She's here," Nyx said as she looked to the sky.

Everyone looked and saw her. Gabriel, in all her righteous fury, hovering in the sky. Her blonde hair blew violently in the winds and her eighteen blue and white wings were spread wide like a bird of prey ready to descend upon its victim. She was surrounded by a cold blue aura and blue lightning arced off her body, ionizing the sky and created more storm systems. Her once warm green eyes that radiated kindness and always had a playful glint to them were now pits of toxic green light.

When Gabriel spoke, everyone covered their ears as an ear-splitting high pitched noise came instead of her warm voice. Only Irina, Nyx, Erebus, and Tartarus could hear what she was saying.

"SAMAEL! ZAMRAN!" Gabriel boomed as her voice made everyone's ears bleed.

* * *

Kokabiel and Risa flew out of Cocytus and followed the River Phlegethon to the Doors of Tartarus. Below them, the monsters and other prisoners had begun rushing through to the Gates only to be cut down by Hades' forces. A rush of the fresh Grecian Air entered the Greco-Roman Hell, signaling that the Doors were open.

Behind them, Samael was drawing in as he cut down every reaper that tried to restrain him.

"Kid the door's open! You ready!" Kokabiel asked as he flew up the shaft of the Pit of Tartarus.

"More than you, vran ollor!" Risa said, flapping all ten of her wings.

Samael narrowed his eyes as he saw them ascend the tunnel leading out of Tartarus and followed after them.

Issei looked behind him as two energy signatures rushed at high speeds out of the Doors.

"There they are!" Issei said, pointing at Kokabiel and Risa.

"And so is Samael," Mitsuki said as she saw the Fallen Seraph fly out of the Doors and after them.

"One of you call Risa or Kokabiel!" Serafall said.

"Right!" Rossweisse formed a CC and contacted Risa.

"_Not the best time!"_ Risa's voice came over the CC.

"Hand that to me!" Nyx said as she made herself known.

Rossweisse nodded and swiped the circle over to the Protogenos.

"Scourge of God, tell the Star to head over to the storm system! The Voice is waiting for you," Nyx said over the CC.

"_Right, Nyx-dono! Over and out!_" Risa said, cutting the link.

"Vran! We have to-!" Risa was cut off as Kokabiel nodded.

"Where do you think we're going?" Kokabiel said, jutting his head towards the massive swirl of storm clouds. Lightning burst from the clouds, heading in their direction, and forced them to roll out of the way to dodge.

"Shit, Vran Aishh is really pissed!" Kokabiel said as the thunder rumbled wit even more fury than thought possible.

"Noid pi i vnph! Ar hami babalond!" Risa said in Enochian.

Kokabiel chuckled and increased his pace.

"Once we enter the storm system, split the fuck up and let vran aishh go to town on him," Kokabiel said.

"Right!" Risa said.

"You think that hiding inside a storm will keep you safe from me you babalond!" Samael yelled as he increased his speed. He had been humoring them, but now playtime was over.

The two disappeared into the swirling clouds and Samael flew in after them.

"Now pashs!" Kokabiel said as he dove and concealed his presence. Risa swerved to the right before doing several twists and barrel rolls before diving down, concealing her presence from Samael.

Samael hovered inside the clouds, trying to sense their grace signatures. Clever bastards. Concealing their energies like that.

"Hello, Samael," a voice called.

His body froze as he slowly turned to see the cold, unforgiving eyes of his elder sister.

"H- Hey, vran aishh! It's been so long! You look great! Tell me, who does your hair?" he asked as he slowly backed away from her.

"Ara, ara, Samael! You're so sweet. Unfortunately, that won't help you," Gabriel said with a false smile plastered onto her face.

Samael soon found himself flying backward across the sky. He righted himself in midair and saw Gabriel calmly floating in the distance. The storm had died down and devolved into a light wind.

He grit his teeth and charged straight at Gabriel and summoned a curved sword. His Enochian Blade, Sheol. Sheol was feared among the battlefield as the sword that slew Demons and Gods alike. He raised Sheol and brought it down with the full intention of cutting Gabriel in half.

The Archangel lazily raised her hand and blocked it, catching the blade between her pointer and middle fingers. Samael tried to remove the blade only for Gabriel toplant her fist in his gut sending him flying to the ground and crashing, destroying several mountains upon impact.

The others watched as Gabriel quickly subdued Samael.

"Woah," Issei said. Kokabiel and Risa landed behind him.

"Heh, vran aishh was always powerful," Kokabiel said.

Issei nodded at his words.

Gabriel hovered over Samael's crash site and waited for the Seraph to move. She lazily leaned her head out of the way as several thousand light spears were throwing in her direction.

Gabriel's eyes glowed and all the light spears froze in mid-air.

"Do you want these back, Samael?" she asked as she snapped her fingers. The spears turned and were fired at Samael simultaneously. The angel barely had time to react as a series of explosions bombarded the Earth, leaving a trail of crates that spanned for hundreds of miles.

Samael stood there in the middle of one of them, beaten and battered. His arm was broken, he had a split lip and fourth-degree burns on his upper chest and right arm. His clothes were damaged and only the left pants and boots survived. He glared hatefully at Gabriel before he found himself pinned to the ground with Gabriel's foot planted firmly on his neck.

"I should have killed you back then, rapist," Gabriel said.

"Humans are weak! They are nothing but apes whose only inclination is to ruin everything! Lucifer was right about them!" he choked out.

"Lucifer also saw the goodness in them," Gabriel said as she increased the pressure on his neck.

"It's of no matter, at the end of it all, this world will end and a new one will be on top of it!" Samael laughed.

"Too bad you won't be around to see it," she said as her eyes glowed.

Samael felt a glowing white-hot pain inside him. Light began to pour from his eyes as Gabriel slowly began to smite him.

"_Crip campimaon, Samael,_" a voice called out in his head.

"!?" Samael felt his consciousness fade but not before hearing one last sentence.

"_Brgdo. A vnig goho gi a gorh,"_ the voice said.

Gabriel narrowed her eyes when she saw red flickering within the light.

"_Gorh. Gabriel,"_ Samael said in a voice that was not his own. Gabriel's eyes widened when she heard the voice.

_Drilpa aishh!_ Gabriel thought. She spread her wings and leaped away from Samael as his body erupted into red and black flames. Twelve massive wings made of pure fire formed behind Samael as his surroundings were reduced to molten lava.

Gabriel landed in front of the others and raised her hand, erecting a barrier.

"Get down now!" she ordered.

"Gabriel, what's going on!?" Serafall asked.

"That's not Samael, it's-," she was cut off when a shockwave of black and red energy erupted from Samael. Gabriel raised her hand and erected a barrier around Parga, while at the same time, blocking their perception. The Mediterranean boiled as the waters were vaporized and the surrounding mountains were reduced to nothing but molten rock that filled the craters, creating lakes of lava. Orange-gold lightning crashed down from the sky as dark clouds darkened the area. It looked like hell on Earth.

Everyone's blood, except for Gabriel, ran cold when they heard it. An ear-piercing cackling roar rang throughout the area, sending waves of terror down their spines.

"No way…," Nyx said as she took a step back. Even after 65 million years, she still felt complete and utter terror when she heard that roar. At the end of the Holy War, it was the noise that made everyone, even the Princes of Hell, piss themselves like a child in fear.

"What was that?" Mitsuki asked fearfully as she shook.

The heat and light died down to reveal Samael standing in the crater fully healed. His black eyes were crimson red and glowing. But that wasn't what got to them. What got to them was the thing surrounding Samael. Enshrouding Samael like a battle avatar was a massive three-headed dragon that seemed to be completely comprised of flames, smoke, and electricity. Each head had a crown of horns with the middle head having longer horns than the middle. The dragon roared again, sending its high pitched cackling wail of fury through the area.

"Drilpa aishh," Gabriel said as she looked at the dragon.

The dragon wrapped itself around Samael, before disappearing in a swirl of flames.

Gabriel dropped the barrier and everyone fell to the ground.

"Gabriel-sama? What was that thing?" Irina asked.

"A being I prayed we never had to fight," Gabriel said.

Issei sat there frozen. There it was. Here in real life, the Dragon from his dreams.

**[Partner, that thing. That was the…]** Ddraig said.

"_Yeah, that was it. That's the damn Dragon that's been popping up in my dreams_," Issei said to him.

"Get some rest. I'll take you all back to the Underworld," Gabriel said as she prepared to send them back.

"We'll head back into Tartarus and subjugate the prisoners, Gabriel," Tatarus said as Nyx and Erebus disppeared in a swirl of shadows.

"As shall I," Hades said before following after them.

Gabriel nodded as Tartarus disappeared in a vortex of fire.

"All of you, tell Sirzechs and the others what happened. I have to go tell Michael of some… new developments. Kokabiel, come with me," she said. Kokabiel nodded and stood next to Gabriel. Before she could teleport them, Issei spoke up.

"Who was that? You looked like you knew it," Issei said.

Gabriel went silent. Small tears welled up in her eyes. The very notion of having to answer his question hurt her. Seeing the Archangel's face go from serious to depressed hit him hard as he began to apologize.

"Y- you don't have to say anything, Gab-" Gabriel cut him off.

"That was Onee-chan," she said as she snapped her fingers.

_Onee-chan?_ Everyone thought as they disappeared from Parga.

"So it really is her, drilpa aishh," Kokabiel said.

Gabriel nodded before disappearing in a flutter of wings. Kokabiel sighed.

_What the hell, Ane-ue? What's your game?_ He thought as he followed after her.

* * *

**Ars Nova**, **6:55 PM**

* * *

"So you failed?" Rudianos asked the group in front of him.

"Cut them some slack," Serafall said from her seat, glaring at the god. "Lilith was there. There was nothing they could have done. Also, your intel was complete and utter shit. The demons weren't even based out on that mountain," she said.

"Well, I-"

"Annabeth told you that they might have been decoys yet you didn't even listen!" Percy yelled as the other demigods held him back.

"Silence boy!" Rudianos yelled, flaring a red aura pressing Percy into the ground.

"Rudianos, calm yourself," Sirzechs said, flaring his own aura. The god went silent out of fear and powered down his auras.

"One of you tell me what happened," Sirzechs asked them.

"Um, Samael broke free, Sirzechs-sama," Irina said.

"Lilith used the demons as a distraction in order to sneak into Tartarus. She sent a Ziz Bird and several demons to assault our forces," Thor said. "Then another one named Abaddon kept us busy before Nyx, Erebos, and Tartarus arrived. Nyx defeated her easily," he said.

"I see. What happened after that?" Sirzechs asked.

"We arrived inside Tartarus to see all the prisoners rioting. The Titan Kronos was killed in battle with the assistance of the Cadre, Kokabi-" Rossweisse was interrupted by Rudianos.

"Kokabiel!? You let that person run free!" Rudianos yelled.

"We had no choice. It was either him or Samael!" Issei argued back.

"Still, he shouldn't even be running free! He stole the Excalibur fragments to try and start a new Great War!" Rudianos said.

"Enough," the doors swung open revealing Azrael followed by Uriel and Kokabiel.

"You!" Rudianos pointed at Kokabiel. He formed several blood-red weapons behind him and fired them at Kokabiel.

Uriel snapped his fingers, causing the spears to disperse in mid-air. Several balls resembling small stars formed behind and poised themselves to fire at Rudianos when Azrael raised her hand.

"Stop, we don't need anymore deaths right now, Uriel," Azrael said.

"Tch, he was annoying me," Uriel said as he dispersed his stellar spheres.

"Alright, move on everyone, Samael is free. What's done is done, right now we need to get our shit together. That's _another_ victory under Lilith's belt. The demons stand as a united front while we look like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off," Azrael said.

"Exactly, Lady Azrael, that is why we need to unite ourselves!" Rudianos said. Ajuka snorted, causing the god to glare at him.

"Is there something funny, Lord Beelzebub?" Rudianos said through his teeth.

"No, no, nothing. I find it funny that you of all people are preaching unity when you're the one antagonizing the Greco-Roman pantheon. They have one of the biggest armies in the mythological world and could be a great help to united military against the demons and yet, you try your hardest to try and piss them off," Ajuka commented offhandedly.

"Why you littl-"

"That's enough. Ajuka, stand down," Sirzechs said, flaring his power once more. Ajuka looked at his best friend and nodded before quieting down.

Rudianos gave Sirzechs a look of appreciation but it was returned with a stern glare.

"You too, Gaulish God of War," Sirzechs warned.

"Everyone get some rest," Azrael said.

"What about you, Az-nee?" Issei asked.

"I need to consult with my siblings on what our sister saw," Azrael said.

"Wait!" Issei called out, making Azrael freeze in her tracks. She turned her head, meeting his panicked brown eyes with her silver ones.

"That dragon! You know what it is!?" Issei asked, no Issei demanded.

"Yes, we do," she said. "I'll tell you when we're in a more private setting. This place isn't… the most ideal," she said. And with that, Azrael disappeared along with Uriel and Kokabiel.

"Issei," he jolted when he felt someone touch his shoulder. Issei turned and saw that it was Rossweisse who was looking worriedly at him.

"I- I'm fine," he said. She narrowed her eyes but decided to confront him later. Ever since they saw that Dragon, he was different. His eyes had a haunted look in them and he looked pale like the life had been sucked completely out of him. Right now, Issei didn't look like the Red Dragon Emperor, he looked like a child terrified of the monster that they had found under their bed.

"Right. You can all leave. Thor, Kali, we need to go to the Celestial Council," Serafall said.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, The Grove, 9:15 PM**

* * *

Issei sat at the edge of the small dock on the pond of the Grove. It was quiet. Quiet like that time he had first learned of his corrupted Pieces. The only sounds he could hear were that of nature itself. It made him feel calm. A bird landed on his shoulder and chirped happily, flapping its wings. Issei smiled and broke of a small piece of his bread and handed it to the bird.

"She was like that too you know," a voice made itself known to him. He turned and saw Azrael standing behind him. She walked over and sat next to him, dangling her feet over the edge.

"Onee-sama, she was like how you were right now whenever she had trouble, except, she sat on the branches of the Sefirot Tree in Eden looking after our younger siblings," Azrael said as she created a perfectly flat stone and skipped it across the pond.

The pebble traveled, skipping five times before plunging into the water.

"Az-nee, you never talk about your sister. What was she like?" Issei asked as he took a rock Azrael had created and skipped it.

"Onee-sama… she was like… you," she mused as she remembered all of the embarrassing moments her sister got into as well as the similar moments Issei often found himself in.

"She was a pervert?" Issei asked.

"No, she's like you in other aspects," Azrael said.

"Like what?" he asked.

"The way you were both viewed by the others around you," Azrael said.

Issei looked at her confused.

"The other angels… they favored us over her. Even though she was the oldest, she lived in our shadows," Azrael said, remembering the times she saw her sister looking sadly at them after the Seraphs and other angels whisked them away and kissed their asses in general.

"That sucks…," Issei said. He knew what that felt like. Everyone loved Mitsuki, praised her, adored her, and like in Azrael's words, kissed her ass. He was always left in her shadow. Issei looked back. He guessed that his perversion was just a pathetic cry for attention in a way.

"Yeah, it did," Azrael said, staring off.

"So, Az-nee, I wanted to ask you about the-" he was interrupted.

"About the Dragon," she said, looking at him. Her silver eyes were intense and made him feel small. On top of that, Azrael looked tired. More tired than she had ever looked in her entire life.

"Y- yeah," he said.

"That Dragon is our sister," she said.

Issei's eyes widened. That thing that had been haunting his dreams was their sister? Why is she a dragon? Last time he checked Azrael and the others were angels. So why was this one different? Was she adopted?

"Why is she a dragon? Aren't you guys angels?" Issei asked.

Azrael sighed. "We are. A dragon is just one of her forms," she said. "You know who she is."

"I do?" Issei asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Hmmm, after all, your ex's brother bears her name in his title," Azrael said.

Issei's eyes widened. "Lucifer?" he asked.

"Yes, though she is better remembered as the Great Dragon. Creator of Demons and the mother of Lilith," she said.

Issei looked down at his reflection. His mind ran back to all the dreams he had, especially the one he had recently of the flaming winged figure. His mind connected the dots and came to the conclusion that the flaming figure was Lucifer considering that it was a dragon before it changed shape. But another question plagued his mind.

"Why does her energy feel like mine? I get that it feels like Nee-chan's because she's her daughter but why mine?" Issei asked.

"I don't know," Azrael said. "I honestly don't know."

The two sat in silence for the rest of the time, simply enjoying each other's company.

* * *

**Grixis, Eighth Circle of Hell**

* * *

Samael's eyes flickered open and noticed that the surroundings looked alien. He got out of the bed and walked over to the window, throwing on his coat, which had been miraculously repaired. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar landscape.

"Hey you, you're finally awake," he whirled around to see Lilith leaning against the door.

Samael glared at Lilith.

"You left me," he said.

"And you're alive at least. Mom had to save you huh? What happened to being the big bad Venom of God?" she taunted. Lilith's eyes widened when she found herself pinned to the wall with Samael's hand around her throat. His crimson tinted black eyes glowed as he glared angrily into her blank blue eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lilith asked.

"Don't antagonize me," Samael said.

"Jeez… can't you take a joke?" Lilith said, slamming her palm into Samael's torso sending him crashing into the wall. As she moved towards him, a burst of fire appeared in the middle of the room. A flaming feminine figure with twelve flaming wings.

"Drilpa aishh…," Samael said as he stared at the figure. He soon found himself unable to move as the figure's flaming eyes looked at him.

"Samael, ripir," she said. The figure turned to Lilith. Samael nodded and he was able to move again. He disappeared with the flapping of wings, fearful of his older sister's wrath.

"Zir brin vran a pashs," Lucifer said as she turned to her daughter.

"So mother, what do you think of him?" Lilith asked as she looked at Lucifer.

"Svrzas lvlo zoden," Lucifer said.

"I- I don't think I can do this," Lilith said.

"Nonca chia ugmd a gvgun," Lucifer said.

"I- I, Lilith looked down and remembered all of the memories she had with Issei.

"Pashs i a zoden," Lucifer said. "It must be done," she finally said.

"What of after? What will happen to him?" Lilith asked.

"He will be rewarded. After all, it is written," Lucifer said before disappearing, leaving Lilith all alone inside the room.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 990-A**

**File Name: Dantalion's Guide to Enochian!**

**[Video Start]**

**[00:01]: Hello everyone, Dantalion here! I'm going to teach you some words in Enochian! **

**Eric: This sounds like a fucking kid show.**

**Dantalion: SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU WHITE HAIRED BASTARD!**

**[00:45] Video Feed cuts.**

**Vran Aishh:**

**-Pronunciation: veh-ran ar-ee-seh-meh**

**-Rough Translation=Elder Sister**

**Drilpa Aishh: Roughly translates to Honorable Elder Sister**

**Pronunciation: doh-rah-leh-peh-ar ar-ee-seh-meh**

**Gorh:**

**Pronunciation: go-rah**

**Meaning: Literally means girl. In the context; Little Sister**

**Vran Ollor:**

**Pronunciation: veh-ran oh-el-lah-rah**

**Meaning: Roughly means Old Man**

**Pashs: **

**Pronunciation: Pah-seh-ess**

**Meaning: Literally means little boy or girl depending on context. **

**Babalond:**

**Pronunciation: bah-bah-loh-en-deh**

**Meaning: Harlot, Seductress, Whore, Slut**

**Phrases used (C'mon, I know you guys wanted translations the minute I started using this language. However, Lucifer's lines will remain untranslated.)**

**SAMAEL! ZAMRAN!: English Translation= SAMAEL! SHOW YOURSELF!**

**Noid pi i vnph! Ar hami babalond!: English Translation= I'd be pissed too if I was anywhere that whore. (Loose)**

**Crip campimaon, Samael: English Translation= I'll save you just this once, Samael.**

**Brgdo. A vnig goho gi a gorh: English Translation= Sleep. I need to see my little sister.**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**AnimeFan0216: Even if Kokabiel is on their side, Samael is now free and on full power. It would be a miracle if they could take down Samael, Issei will have no choice but to release his inner demon into rampage. I'll just hope for a small victory for them**

**Yeah, Gabriel had to save them. I'm not having them fight Samael until later in the season. It's too early for them to fight him and they're not strong enough.**

**SkellZero: I wish Issei's Miasma would evolve into something like Ken Kaneki's Kagune and/or Kakuja from the Tokyo Ghoul anime along with his Miasma wings to be Ayato's Wings (From the Tokyo Ghoul anime too) and I hope Samael swerves Lilith and runs off and refuses to help her.**

* * *

**Actually, his wings look like Ayato's wings from Tokyo Ghoul. Also, I will have his Miasma evolve after the end of the second season when the third one begins. So, you'll have to wait a bit. Also, Eden Squad will be getting some upgrades.**

**Okay, that's the end of the Chapter. Issei officially knows about Lucifer now. He knows that she exists. What did Lucifer say to Lilith? What is Issei's role in all this? Also, I wanna hear what you guys think. Who do you think will receive the Boosted Gear after Issei dies? Let's face facts. I'm setting Issei up to die for the sake of the plot. The person whose guess is right well... you'll have a nice prize!~ Anyway, review! Also, fav and follow. Remember to have a great day/night or not! The choice is yours!~ Also check out Ravel Quest by Just a Bad Writer For Fun!**

**PS: Check out Highschool DxD: Shard Chronicles. It's a new multi-volume fic I'm working on. And the meme that goes along with this postscript is Obama giving himself a medal.**


	37. The Scribe

**Sorry for posting this so late at night everyone. I didn't have all that time to post this on Thursday because I was procrastinating on some school work! College... Anyway, here we are with a new chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed the last one. This chapter will be a bit shorter since I am using it to segway into the second half of this season. Did you know there are only eleven more chapters until the end of the Second Arc/Season? Aren't you all excited? Anyway, I've thought it over and this chapter will have another ORC girl begin to work her way back into Issei's friendship and another spot in the harem will finally be cemented! And by popular demand, New Moon Artemis will appear. Anyway, let's do this.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, September 10, 2020, 10:15 AM, Current Time: 1 minute and 56 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei walked through the campus of the Kuoh College Division. The past few months since Samael had been freed from Cocytus had been the most stressful few months, to say the least. The Celestial Council scrambled to find the Venom of God, sending out Eden Squad, the ORC, Vali Team, Sitri Peerage, Bael Peerage, and Team Slashdog all to go find a rogue angel. On top of that, the unexpected eruption of Mount Vesuvius and ice age that suddenly descended over the entirety of Greece as well as the surrounding countries had the entire Supernatural World moving in to prevent the humans from noticing anything wrong. A mass spell cast by Parvati did the trick as scientists were lulled into a sense that it was due to the weather systems being distorted thanks to global warming.

Issei hummed a tune as he walked. It was nice to get a break. They haven't had a mission in a few weeks now as the Celestial Council managed to come to a sort of compromise and formed a coalition army. Rudianos, of course, had tried to get appointed as the leader but everyone voted in favor of someone else and thus Mayari, the Goddess of the Moon, from the Philippine Pantheon was voted due to her experience due to her thousand-year war with her brother Apolaki, the God of the Sun, all those years ago.

As he walked, Issei felt someone run into him. He fell back a few steps and looked up to see who ran into him. It was Xenovia. Her eyes widened when she saw him.

"Issei! I'm sorry for running into you!" she said, bowing to him. Issei sighed. He thought it was someone else like Artemis. It was a New Moon and the Goddess had inexplicably changed. She became clingy, overly sensitive, shy, and very affectionate.

"No, no, it's fine. I just thought you were someone else," Issei said. Xenovia looked up and nodded. The two stood around awkwardly as the students moved around them.

"Soooo, wanna go get some coffee?" Xenovia asked.

"Yeah, sure," Issei said.

The two began to walk, still quiet, neither wanting to say a word to the other. Neither Issei nor Xenovia knew what to say. The two hadn't spoken to each other or interacted for an entire year since their less than gentle break up. Issei glanced down at the blue-haired woman who was walking silently beside him. She looked a little worse for wear. An aura of slight depression surrounded her. Issei felt a little guilty for not helping her during her violent separation from her ex-boyfriend, Yuu. Issei clenched his fist. That bastard had followed them into the college. He grew even more arrogant than thought possible. Apparently, dating a girl from the ORC was a guarantee to make you a hit with other women since the girls from the ORC were seen as untouchable.

The two walked up to the counter and began to order. Xenovia got a pure black roast while Issei ordered a white mocha. Issei waited for Xenovia to finish mixing her coffee, putting in three packets of sugar and a bit of half and half into her cup.

_I need to say something! Come on, Issei, think!_ Issei thought.

"So, how's life?" Issei asked. _Really Issei! How's life!?_

Xenovia blinked at his sudden question and felt relieved on the inside. She did not want to have to say the first word.

"Good. It's been good. Just missions and all you know," she said as she placed the lid over her cup.

The two walked out, silent once more.

"Sooo, how are your classes?" Xenovia asked.

"Good. Good, yours?" Issei replied.

"It's fine. I'm trying to get into teaching," she said.

"Really?"

"Hey, how about you?"

"I might take up biology and become a professor like Az-nee, an engineer, or maybe, a game designer," Issei said. _Like Nee-chan_, Issei added as an afterthought.

Xenovia hummed in response.

"Nice weather, right?" Issei said.

"Thanks, you too," Xenovia said without thinking. After realizing what she just said, she began to scream on the inside.

_WHAT THE HELL KIND OF RESPONSE WAS THAT!?_ She screamed inside her head. Her golden eyes darted over to Issei. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice her little slip-up.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened with… Yuu," Issei said.

"No, it's fine. He was an asshole," Xenovia said to him.

Suddenly, Issei felt a chill run down his spine. The winds blew harshly even for the beginning of fall. This was the feeling he got when one person showed up and one person only. The only person who would dare show up and publicly embarrass him on campus. Most people, if they heard this train of thought would think it was Mitsuki or Lily but no. It was a being even more terrifying than the two of them combined. A being so clingy that not even Great Red would be able to get them off. Her.

"ISSEI-NII CHAN!" Xenovia blinked when she heard a shrill voice call out. She looked at Issei confused.

"Nii-chan?" Xenovia questioned.

Issei sighed and looked dead. He stumbled forward when someone collided with his back. Xenovia looked on slack-jawed as did the rest of the campus who looked on after Issei's name was called. Hugging him from behind was a girl their age with midnight black hair and one blonde streak running down her bangs and one on the left side of her hair. Her eyes were the purest of silver and shined with such cuteness that onlookers had to look away lest they get a heart attack. The figure snuggled into him, increasing the force of her hug.

"Nii-chaaann~!" she mewled as she rubbed her face against Issei's uniform. Issei groaned and shook her off. The girl stood looking at him expectantly.

"Hey, Artemis-sama," Issei said.

"MOUUUU! Don't call me -sama! Artemis-chan! Say it with me! AR-TE-MIS-CHAN!" she said, enunciating each syllable.

"Ehhh, all right then, Artemis-chan," Issei said weakly.

"Ummm, is that Artemis-sama?" Xenovia asked him. Artemis jumped at the sound of her voice and immediately hid behind Issei.

She peeked out from behind Issei, silver eyes wide in surprise and slight apprehension.

"Come on, Artemis-chan. Be nice," Issei said, stepping away from her.

Artemis looked at Issei for second before turning to Xenovia and bowing.

"I- I am Artemis! Goddess of the Moon, Hunt, Forests, Hills, Wilderness, Animals, Childbirth, and Chastity! P- Pleased to meet you!" she said, introducing herself.

"I'm Xenovia Quarta. It is an honor to meet you, Artemis-sama," Xenovia said, bowing in kind.

"R- Really? My Regular Moon Self doesn't cause any problems, does she? Apollo-onii-chan says that she likes to hurt people for looking at her," Artemis said.

"N- No! Certainly not," Xenovia said as her mind flew through all the stories Griselda had told her about Artemis butchering men and castrating them just for even glancing at her.

Artemis smiled brightly as she looked at Xenovia. She then turned to Issei and bowed her head a bit. Issei sighed, immediately knowing what she wanted. He reached his hand forward and began petting her head. Artemis smiled happily as she felt Issei's hand pat her head. She had been a good girl.

"Guess what?" she said as Issei patted her head.

"Hmmm," Issei said, not paying attention.

"Harmonia and I are going to your campus!"

Issei nodded and sipped his coffee but the weight of her words hit him full force. His eyes widened as he spat out his coffee.

"Issei!" Xenovia said, looking at him with a worried gaze.

"I'm fine," he said, wiping coffee from his mouth. Artemis looked at him innocently, tilting her head in worry.

"Did I say something bad?" she asked.

"No no! You're fine," Issei said. She beamed at him and the three began to walk. Issei found out that he, Xenovia, Kiba, Mitsuki, Irina, Vali, Kuroka, Bikou, and Arthur and Asia all had the same professors. Issei smiled and shook his head in exasperation. Damn devil influence.

Issei sat in an empty seat next to Irina and Kiba. The two sent him smiles but those smiles became looks of confusion when Xenovia sat around them. They get that Asia was welcome since Issei had forgiven her a while back but this was… new.

"Xenovia-san! Good morning!" Asia greeted her with a smile. Xenovia smiled and waved to her.

"Who's the professor of this class anyway?" Irina asked.

"Isn't this class World Mythology?" Kiba said.

"Yeah but there was no professor mentioned in the catalog," Kuroka mentioned off-handedly.

The doors burst open, causing all the students to jump and look towards the door. A familiar woman walked in, wearing a white longsleeved uniform, a black skirt, black leggings, and white boots. Her familiar auburn hair and hazel eyes shined in the sunlight that came in through the window. On her right hand was an ever-present set of red sigils. She was carrying a small bag and placed it down on the table with an audible thump.

"GOOD MORNING YOU DIPSHITS!" she announced. The entire class's mouths dropped at her vulgar words.

"I am Monika Amaranth and I shall be the professor of this course. When the semester ends, you will be able to draw Zeus's schlong when I say draw Zeus's schlong! This class will be an in-depth study of the various religions and pantheons of past civilizations and today's religions and how past religions influenced today's," "Monika" said.

"Ummm, Amaranth-sensei?" Murayama asked, raising her hand.

"Yes," she said, turning her hazel eyes upon her.

"Are you by chance related to-"

"Yes I am, random citizen!" she said. "If you didn't know, Aunt Ashley is my aunt!"

The entire room chorused in a sea of surprised and hushed tones.

"Right so, let's get started!" "Monika" said. "So today, we'll start with Babylonian Myth! Anyone know anything about that?"

**|Babylonian Myth huh? So are we just going to listen to Harmonia talk about Anu or Marduk or how I'm viewed as a pile of saltwater or how a bunch of nerds gave me four extra heads maybe?|** Tiamat asked from within.

"_Ummm, she's talking about Ishtar and Ereshkigal right now_," Issei said.

**[Ah, I remember Ishtar. Sly vixen. Tried to seduce me in front of Tiamat. All she kept saying was something along the lines of Strong and Thick Drag-!] **Ddraig yelped in pain as Tiamat slammed her foot on his tail.

**|Hush you!|** she said, her red eyes glaring into his green ones.

"_Anyway, I've been thinking of coming up with a new name since this is no longer the Boosted Gear with Tiamat being part of it and all,_" Issei said.

**[That's a good idea actually. Boosted Gear was just me and now since Tia is here. I suggest the Imperial Dragon Arm!]** Ddraig said.

**|Imperial Dragon Arm? How about Dragon King Booster|** she suggested.

The two dragons did a back and forth inside his head. Ddraig and Tiamat were in their human forms, sitting in front of the fireplace with a notepad in their hands, tearing pages with lists of names and throwing them into the fire.

_Wait? When did my mind look like a living room?_ Issei thought.

"_How about Calamity Booster? Since you know, Ddraig's powers are to amplify and yours reign over calamities,_" Issei said.

**|I like it! What do you think dear?|** Tiamat asked.

**[Hmmm, it sounds like a ship name. And we are already mated… And the name does sound cool]** Ddraig said.

**|[We agree, hatchling]| **the two dragons said.

"ISSEI!" Issei snapped his head in the direction of the board to see "Monika" looking at him with a stern gaze.

"You paying attention back there?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his head while smiling. "Monika" raised her eyebrow before continuing with her lecture.

* * *

**Kuoh Academy College Division Plaza 4:15 PM**

* * *

Harmonia had a wonderful day. First, she became the professor of her uncle's class, granted she manipulated the staff and pulled a few favors from Zeoticus Gremory. It was funny seeing her aunt in her New Moon Form. She had heard rumors that during a New Moon, Artemis's entire personality changes to what could be referred to by Apollo, the fucking weeb, as Imoutomis. She was shy, clingy, affectionate, and above all else, easily jealous. Even more so than her Gibbous to Crescent Form and her Full Moon Form. And that was how she saw the current situation with her aunt, Issei looked dead while New Moon Artemis leaned against his shoulder. Irina looked like she was about to murder the goddess if the potent killing intent leaking off her in waves was any indicator.

"Hello again!" she chirped.

The group turned to look at her and greeted her back.

"So you're our cryptozoology and mythology professor?" Vali said as he turned his head slightly to look at her. Currently, Mitsuki was giving Vali a lap pillow.

"Yup! Also, Mikaboshi-sama got elected as mayor of Kuoh!" Harmonia informed them.

"Hn," Vali said as he closed his eyes again. Mitsuki giggled at his antics. Xenovia looked at them and wondered why the hell was she the only one finding this odd.

"Umm, no one going to ask why she's the new mayor?" Xenovia asked.

The others looked at her and shrugged.

"I'm guessing it's because they're preparing for when Issei's one year is over. Demons might invade Kuoh at full force just to kill him," Bikou explained. Everyone looked down. Any mentions of Issei's deal always seemed to make everything depressing.

"Hey, cheer up! With Mikaboshi-baa chan here, Issei has a fighting chance of living though, Mom never…," Harmonia's sentence was interrupted as Issei finished her sentence for her.

"Nee-chan never misses a kill. Not now. Not ever," he said, recalling Amatsu-Mikaboshi's words.

"So, what do you all want to do?" Harmonia asked, sitting next to Irina.

"Isn't it wrong for a teacher to be hanging out with her students, nya~?" Kuroka asked her.

"No, not at all. Technically, these are my office hours," she said.

"So I have a question that I've always wanted to ask," Mitsuki said. "What's with the thing with you being the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite?"

Harmonia let out a sigh like she had gone through this all before.

"It's because I'm considered a beauty on Olympus. While there are many beautiful goddesses on Olympus, me being born with extreme natural one makes people think that only Aphrodite could have birthed such a goddess," she said. "It sucks because my real parents never get any recognition. Did you know that Aphrodite jumped on the opportunity to claim me? My mom and dad never got the credit," Harmonia said.

"Who is your mother by the way?" Kuroka said, her golden eyes falling on Harmonia's face. Ever since they met her, Harmonia looked extremely familiar. They saw Hephaestus in her but also someone else. Issei knew who it was the minute he saw her.

"Nee-chan," he said

"Yeah, Lilith. Lilith is my mother," Harmonia said. "I'm not a full god. I'm Cambion like Issei," she said.

Everyone went silent.

"So do you know why your mother is like this?" Gasper asked her.

"No, she just left one day. I think it had something to do with Grandma's disappearance," she said.

"Let's talk about something else," Harmonia said, changing the subject.

* * *

**Hyoudou House, September 11, 2020, 11:30 AM**

* * *

Ingvild sat in front of her mirror, hyping herself. Her purple hair was styled in a ponytail and she wore a violet sweater and a grey skirt.

"Today's the day huh?"

Ingvild twisted her head to look at the door with such speed that it was a miracle she didn't snap her neck.

Irina stood there leaning against the door frame with an amused smile on her face. Her violet eyes looked at Ingvild with amusement as the girl was stuttering in front of her with a mild blush on her face.

"Look, I don't mind you being with Issei. I practically have to share him with two other girls. But promise me that you won't hurt him. Clear?" Irina asked, flaring her power at the last statement.

Ingvild nodded and Irina smiled at her.

"Oh! Pro-tip, if you want Issei to notice your feelings, be aggressive," she said as she walked out.

"Okay, be aggressive. Be aggressive. How do I have to be anyway? It's not like Issei's a harem protagonist or anything," she said, calming down.

Ingvild nodded at herself in the mirror. Her plan was simple. Get Issei to go with her to the Grove and confess her feelings to him there. It had been a while since she started developing these feelings and she was now sure that she liked him. It was more than just a simple schoolgirl crush. It was much stronger. She walked downstairs and saw Issei sitting on the couch with Lily. The girl was sitting on the couch watching a movie as well as playing with blobs of darkness. Issei looked at her as soon as he heard her footsteps.

"Issei," she said.

"Yes?" Issei said, smiling at her.

"Can I talk to you alone?" Ingvild asked.

"Sure," he said, standing up.

"Let's talk in the Grove," Ingvild said, walking out the door. Confused, Issei followed her. From behind the corner, everyone else walked out. Rossweisse was handing Kuroka a fistful of yen while everyone else smiled.

"She's finally doing it," Kuroka said, counting the amount of money she received from Rossweisse.

"So, next bet," Rossweisse said, staring at Kuroka.

"Bring it Rossy!" Kuroka said, smirking.

"Knock it off, guys! Let's go watch," Mitsuki said, running out the door. Vali sighed and walked after her followed by Irina and Arthur.

"Hey, wait up, nya!" Kuroka said, running after them with Rossweisse.

* * *

**The Grove**

* * *

"So what did you want to talk about?" Issei asked as they entered to Grove. The birds chirped as they flitted from tree to tree. Arriving at the small dock, Ingvild stopped and stared at her reflection into the water. She breathed in as she internally slapped herself to gain the courage she needed to do this. Ingvild turned to face Issei with a healthy blush on her face. Issei took a step back when he saw the determined look in her eyes.

"Ingvi-"

"Issei, I need to tell you this. I know that you probably won't accept it because if your relationship with the other girls but…," Ingvild said, her orange eyes looking into his brown ones. Her eyes sparkled with so much emotion that Issei could see them individually. Happiness. Apprehension. And… affection and love.

"Ingvild, what are you trying to-" Issei was interrupted when she walked to him and stood on her toes. Catching him off-guard, Ingvild planted her lips softly on Issei's. Issei's eyes widened as he felt her kiss him. Unsure of what to do, he slowly leaned into it. A feeling like electricity coursed between the two as they deepened their kiss.

Ingvild felt her heart leap with unbridled joy when Issei leaned into their kiss.

The two pulled apart and Issei looked at her smiling face. She looked beautiful, so beautiful right now. A slight breeze blew through the air, causing Ingvild's hair to blow slightly in the breeze.

"I like you Issei," she said. "Will you give me a chance to be with you?"

Issei was at a loss for words. Ingvild liked him? Issei gulped and prepared to respond.

"Just accept her Issei," Irina said, walking out from behind a tree. Issei and Ingvild turned to look at her. She had a small smile on her face.

"But Iri-!"

"I talked it over with Ingvild. She'll be fine," Irina said.

"It really sounds like you want me to build a harem," Issei said blankly.

"No, you just seem to be able to do that naturally now without you knowing it," she said. "And besides, it's your dream is it not?"

Issei looked down. It was his dream. "Not anymore," he said. The two turned to look at him and everyone else who was hiding strained their ears to listen.

"Huh?" Irina looked at him confused.

"I just want to spend time with you all. You're my family," Issei said.

"That's sweet," Irina said, smiling.

"Um, Issei?" Ingvild said. "Will yo-"

"Yeah, I will," Issei said, wrapping his arm around her waist. Ingvild eeped as she felt his arms snake around her waist, pulling her in.

"I know you're all there," Issei said.

There were hushed whispers and the sound of leaves rattling. Mitsuki hopped down from a tree branch along with Arthur and Vali while Kuroka, Rossweisse, Gasper, and Le Fay. Asia and Kiba descended from the sky and pulled her wings in.

"Really, spying?" Issei said, looking at them blankly.

"Ahem, well we wanted to see what your decision was," Mitsuki said.

"..." Ingvild looked at them with a deadpan stare.

A pulse of energy washed over the entire estate causing them all to look towards the entrance. Issei spread his wings and took to the skies to see who it was. His eyes spotted a figure wearing black hair and wearing a dark kimono. It was Amatsu-Mikaboshi. Issei flew over to the entrance and landed.

Opening the door, Issei greeted the Goddess.

"You couldn't have rung the doorbell? We have Google Nest you know and you also ruined a moment between me and someone," Issei said.

"This was more effective and I have no regrets," Mikaboshi said. A coughing sound caught both their attention and it was then that Issei noticed that Kunou was with her. The blonde kyuubi looked at him with a smile on her face and her nine bushy tails, which were out for the world to see, were swishing around happily.

"Hey, Kunou!" Issei said.

"Issei!" she said, running over and bowing. Issei chuckled and began to pat her head.

"Would you like to come in?" Issei asked.

"Of course, just let me get this first," Mikaboshi said, waving her hand. Kunou's luggage came out a portal and landed next to them. She snapped her fan shut and pointed it at Kunou's bags, causing them to levitate.

"So you ready to stay with us while you go to school?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, I'm starting my first year here," Kunou said, skipping happily beside them. As they neared the house, Ingvild was waiting for him.

"Issei! Mikaboshi-sama! Kunou-hime-sama! It is an honor to have you here!" Ingvild said, bowing in front of the Kyuubi Princess and the Shinto Supreme God.

"Please don't bow to us Underworld Princess," Mikaboshi said, confusing her. Seeing her confused expression, Mikaboshi began to explain.

"You are the descendant of the Original Maou Leviathan am I correct?"

Ingvild nodded, already having an idea of where this was going.

"As his Descendant, you are technically the Princess of the Underworld alongside the Lucifer descendant," Mikaboshi said.

"Oh!" Ingvild replied.

The four walked inside and Issei was tasked with showing Kunou to her room. Ingvild led Mikaboshi into the living room where she was greeted by the others. Upon seeing Lily, the Elder Goddess immediately lost her composure and hugged the life out of the little girl. Lily squirmed in her tight grip before using her powers to turn into a funnel of smoke and flew through the air vents to the second floor.

"She's becoming more and more like Issei," Rossweisse said as she stared at the air vents.

"Yeah, the only thing missing is her shouting about oppai," Kuroka mused.

"Don't jinx it. And besides, Aniki would never let that happen," Mitsuki said to them.

"Or he might," Vali said.

"Hush you," Mitsuki said, smacking his arm. "I'm her sister too. I won't let her be a pervert."

* * *

Lily reappeared on the second floor and ran to find Issei. As she did, she crashed into someone and fell on her butt. Rubbing her head, Lily looked and saw a blonde girl older than her with fox ears and nine tails.

"Oh! I'm sorry! My name is Kunou and you are?" the fox girl known as Kunou said.

"I'm Lily! Lily Hyoudou!" she said.

"Kunou and… Lily? What are you doing up here?" Issei asked.

"Big Brother! That crazy lady is back," Lily said.

"Crazy lady?" Kunou turned to Issei.

"She means Amatsu-Mikaboshi," Issei clarified.

"Ah. She went all 'you're so cute let me hug you' mode on her," Kunou said. "Had to deal with that every time she visited when I was a kit."

"So Lils, mind showing Kunou around the house. It's a very important job that I can only trust you to do," Issei said.

"Okay!" Lily said. She ran over and grabbed the kitsune's hand and began to drag her away, presumably to all her favorite places.

Issei chuckled and walked over to his room. Walking to his desk, he pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil.

"Whatcha doin?" he turned and saw Nancy standing at his doorway. She was leaning on his door. Her hair was tied in a ponytail and she was wearing a grey jacket and red shorts. Her glasses were on at the moment and she held her laptop in her left hand.

"Some homework," he said.

"I had a vision," Nancy said.

"What was it about?" Issei asked.

* * *

Irina sat on the couch conversing with the Shinto Void Goddess when they heard Lily coming down the stairs, dragging Kunou along with her. Irina smiled and turned back to Mikaboshi.

"This is some nice tea," the goddess said.

"Thank you, Mikaboshi-sama!" Irina said.

"Hmmm, tell me are you aware of how long he has left?" Amatsu-Mikaboshi said.

Irina fell silent and nodded. Everyone stopped paying attention to the TV and looked at the two.

"How is he taking it?" she asked.

"Aniki, he just stopped caring. It's like he gave up," Mitsuki said.

"Hmmm, I can understand. I would too if I was in his situation," Mikaboshi said.

"Is there any way we can break the deal?" Rossweisse asked.

"There may be someone I know who can _possibly_ do it. Just remember that I never said that they could. I said they _might know_," Mikaboshi said, sipping her tea. "Tell me, do you know how Faustian Bargains work?"

"You sell your soul and get your wish granted, right?" Kiba said.

"It's more than that. Your soul is used as a medium to grant the demon power to make whatever your wishing for come true," Mikaboshi said. "A contract between a demon and their client is nearly unbreakable and only the contract holder can break it but the person I know is more versed in breaking links that I am."

"Where are they?" Irina asked.

"On Hokkaido, however, they've cloaked themselves. I can only tell you the general area but I can't tell you the exact location," Mikaboshi said.

"Who is this person anyway?" Bikou asked. Mikabishi's eyes twinkled and she smiled.

"It's Metatron. The Scribe of God," she said.

* * *

"So that's it huh?" Issei said, looking out his window.

"Yeah, that's it," Nancy said.

"Hey, guys!" Kiba said, walking into the room. Nancy and Issei turned to look at him.

"Yeah?" Issei said, wondering what was going on.

"Mikaboshi-sama says that she might have something for us to break your deal," Kiba said.

"Really? What is it?" Issei said, standing up. Whatever this was, he needed to get it broken. What Nancy had just told him… Issei shook his head internally.

"We need to head to Hokkaido and look for the Seraph Metatron," Kiba said.

"Metatron? Didn't she disappear a long time ago according to every angel ever?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, but apparently, she's been living here in Japan for a while now," Kiba said.

"How did no one notice that an Angel, a Seraph I might add, was living here in Japan?" Issei said.

"No clue. But from what Mikaboshi-sama told us, she's using spells to cloak herself and that she has an agreement with her not to disrupt anything," Kiba said.

"Okay, but Hokkaido's a big place. Where do we even begin to look?" Issei said.

Kiba looked down. Hokkaido was a big place and they would run out of time before they could even find a single feather belonging to Metatron.

"We could ask Sirzechs-sama to help us or Azrael-sama," Kiba suggested.

"Did she give us a prefecture at least?" Issei asked.

"No, just the island," Kiba said.

"How are we supposed to even find her then?" Issei asked.

"Hmm, maybe a spell?" Nancy said.

"Tracking spells won't do us any good if the person is cloaking themselves from us," Kiba said,

"So what now?" Nancy asked.

"I'll call Sirzechs. You guys go figure out how else we can find her," Issei said as he summoned a CC. Nancy and Kiba nodded and walked out of the room.

"_Yello!_" Sirzechs' voice was heard from the circle.

"Aniki," Issei said.

"_Issei. It's nice to hear from you. What is it?" _Sirzechs asked.

"We need your help finding someone," Issei said.

"_Who is it?_"

"Metatron," Issei said. "Mikaboshi-san says that Metatron might know a way out of my deal," Issei said.

"_Hmmm, do you have a general area that you want us to sweep?_" Sirzechs asked him.

"Yeah, Hokkaido," Issei replied.

"_That island has always been foggy to all the supernatural and is under heavy amounts of warding_," Sirzechs said. _"If there's one place she could be hiding it could be there_," he added.

"Thanks, Aniki," Issei said.

"_I'll let you know if I find something," _Sirzech said.

Issei hung up and sat on his bed. He walked back over to his dresser, pulled out the piece of paper and began to write again.

* * *

**Hyoudou Household, September 15, 2020**

* * *

Issei sat on the couch with Irina leaning on his shoulder. Everyone else was sitting around doing their own thing, it had been a normal morning, deciding that today, they would skip class and just waste the day way. It was raining as well. The pitter-patter of raindrops could be heard on the window as Kunou and Gasper watched their respective raindrops race down to the bottom.

A knock on the door could be heard and Issei stood to go answer it. When he opened it, he saw Serafall standing at the doorway with Falbium.

"Come on, we found her," Seraall said.

"You did?" Issei said.

"We narrowed it down to a town," Falbium told him, "Niseko, Japan."

"Hey, we went there last year to go skiing," Issei said.

"Then let's go," Serafall said.

"Yeah, just let me get the other-"

"Just you," Falbium said.

"Huh?" Issei turned to look at them, confused.

"When we were looking, Metatron reached out to us. It was like she knew this was going to happen," Serafall said.

"She'll only speak to you and only you," Falbium told him.

"But what about?"

"They can come," Serafall said. "However, the minute we enter the town, you're on your own," Serafall added.

"Right," Issei said.

He walked back inside and got everyone. After a few minutes, Eden Squad stood at the door with Serafall and Falbium. The two Maou formed a magic circle and teleported them away.

* * *

**Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, 2:30 PM**

* * *

Niseko was a small town in Japan. It was located at the base of the large. It was primarily a skiing town. The town possessed a population of 4,900 people. It was what one would expect of a rural Japanese town. Rice fields dotted the rural part of the town and people could be seen working. As you travel closer to the downtown area, more buildings could be seen. A Hilton Hotel stood proudly alongside other resort hotels as tourists walked in and out in a chance to get one last view of Niseko before the winter snow eventually swallowed out the lush beauty of Japanese summer. Eden Squad and the two maou appeared behind one of the resort hotels and Issei walked into the streets.

"Okay, Issei. Metatron said that she will meet you in a bar called the Boar's head," Serafall said.

"Why can't we go with him?" Rossweisse asked.

"Because the angel asked to meet with him alone," Falbium said. "It was the only way we could get her to tell us where she was."

"Issei, be careful," Ingvild said.

"I will," Issei said, waving back at them.

Issei traversed the somewhat busy streets of Niseko in search of the Boar's Head bar. After asking around, a couple of people pointed him in the direction of the Onsen district. Upon arriving, he saw the place he was looking for. The Boar's Head Bar was odd in comparison to the other buildings in Niseko. For one, it was shaped like a massive tankard with a circular veranda sticking out of its third floor. Walking up to the door, Issei opened it and walked inside. He sat down at the bar and looked around.

"Anything to drink?" the bartender asked.

The bartender was short, shorter than Issei but slightly taller than Gasper. He had messy blonde hair with two ahoge sticking out of the top. His eyes were emerald green and shimmered with a hidden amusement. The man wore an ordinary, clean white button-front shirt and a black sleeveless vest on top with a loosely worn tie. All in all, the bartender looked more like an adolescent than an actual adult responsible for running a bar.

"Just water please," Issei said, admiring the impressive collection of alcohol that the bar possessed.

"One water," the bartender said setting down a glass of water in front of Issei.

Issei sat at the bar for several minutes waiting for Metatron to show up. Eventually, he got tired of waiting and began to order from the menu.

"Can I get a slider?" Issei asked.

"Sure kid," he said.

After a few minutes, a woman walked up to him with his order. The woman in question was strikingly beautiful. She had waist-length silver hair and her bangs covered her right eye. The woman wore an open-backed blue button-up shirt with a white necktie, a short white skirt with slits and a belt, and a long black stocking on her right leg with black heels.

"Thanks," Issei said as he began to eat his slider.

"You're welcome, Red Dragon emperor," she said.

Issei choked on his food when he heard those words.

"Huh!?" Issei turned to face the waitress only to find that she was gone.

"Right here," he turned to the bar to see the waitress smiling at him creepily. The bartender came back and saw what was happening.

"Come on Meta, the kid's not a ninja, like you," he said. The waitress known as Meta turned her head and pouted.

"Y- you're!" Issei pointed.

"Hmm? Yes, I'm Metatron and this is my husband, Bael, I think it's time that we talked, Red Dragon," Metatron said, introducing herself.

* * *

**Review Replies **

**Rhongomyniad (Ch 36, Oct 20): Um, yes actually, I am using Elizabeth for Metatron. Huh, I never told anyone who I was using for Metatron but since I was using Meliodas for Bael, I guess it was obvious. I hope you liked the chapter!**

**Udaysraan (Ch 36, Oct 18): No, you're awesome.**

**OechsnerC (Ch 36 Oct 18): Thanks!**

**AnimeFan0216: Since your review was a PM due to a bug (damn ), I can tell you here again that I love mysteries :). **

**Okay, guys. I'm pooped (yes that's a way of saying tired). I do hope you liked the chapter. I want to know what you all think of the new Boosted Gear name, Calamity Booster. It's supposed to be a combo of Ddraig and Tiamat's powers of Boost and Chaos. And now, Issei has met Metatron and yet another Prince of Hell. What do you think Metatron has to talk to Issei about? Anyway, remember to review! Also, follow/fav if you enjoy this story! Remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!**


	38. House of Cards

**Not the best name for this chapter I admit but a lot of things kinda come crashing down in this chapter. Like a House of Cards. I do hope you guys have a happy Halloween. It will be Halloween when I post this chapter at least, really late at night before No Nut November starts. Or is it Nut 4 Nature November now... Eh whatever, it's all a test of willpower kids. Anyway, there is a scene in this chapter. Please don't kill me for writing it. Anyway, let's get on with this chapter!**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Boar's Head Bar, Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan, September 15, 2020, 2:45 PM; Current Time: 1 Minute and 47 Seconds Til Midnight**

* * *

Issei sat on the bar, watching as the Angel, Metatron, and to his surprise, the Demon Bael, ran around the bar, serving drinks and foods to a plethora of customers. The bar's feel changed since more customers started to roll around. It felt like a constant festival with food and drinks as well as laughter and cheering. It seemed that the two were very well-liked within this town. According to Metatron, their aliases here were Balton and Meridia Mikaelus, a couple from Europe who decided to set up shop here in Niseko. His hazel eyes trailed to the short, blonde Prince of Hell, Bael. While Issei knew that he was suppressing his power, he still felt about as strong as some of the Ultimate Class Gods out there. The level of power that this man was holding back was insane. His eyes trailed to Metatron. Her power was weaker than Bael's significantly and she seemed about as strong as the other Seraphs.

It surprised Issei that the two could run such a busy establishment with just the two of them. It just seemed very unlikely that they could. He must have counted at least 100 customers inside the room at least.

**|Issei, stop staring at them|** Tiamat said.

Issei looked away when Metatron glanced at him. She flashed him a soft smile before walking over.

"Come on," she said, touching his shoulder. Metatron whistled, causing Issei to cover his ears.

"MAMA!" a small boy and girl ran out from the back and latched onto her legs. The boy had short silver hair and green eyes and looked at Issei curiously while the girl had blonde hair and blue eyes and immediately walked over to Issei and held out her hand.

"Hi! I'm Lisara! Nice to meet you!" she said.

Metatron sighed and squatted to their level.

"Lisara! Michael! Keep a lookout while Papa and Mama talk to someone okay," she said, softly stroking their heads. The two nodded vigorously and went about helping out. Metatron gestured for Bael and Issei to follow her to the second floor. Issei gulped and began to question just what the hell he was getting himself into. Opening a door, Metatron and Bael walked in followed by Issei. He looked around. The office was cozy. An oak desk sat by the window with a rather comfortable black and red gaming chair. On the desk, was a dual screen monitor and a picture of Bael, Metatron, and their kids. Off to the left side of the room, there was a large bookcase with rows filled with books. Issei looked to the wall and saw various awards and even a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, resting proudly on the wall.

"Being the Scribe of God has its perks when it comes to writing. I have a lot of stories I can pull from my head, especially one of the old man himself but you know, people seem to be overly sensitive these days about everything," Metatron said, leaning against the desk. Bael sat in the computer chair, looking at Issei with an amused twinkle in his green eyes.

"What's that over there?" Issei asked, pointing to a clay tablet with unfamiliar symbols written all over it. As Issei tried to read it, his mind began to implode and he looked away for fear of a headache.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Metatron said, waving her hand causing a cloth to appear over the tablet. Issei nodded and became quiet.

"Well, well, well, I suppose we should introduce ourselves then?" Bael said, his smile never leaving his face. "I'm Bael, eldest of the Princes of Hell, bearing the title, The Sin of Wrath."

Metatron went next. "I am Metatron, the eldest of the Ten Seraphim, formerly bearing the title of Piety and the twin sister of the one you call, Samael," she said, unfurling all twelve of her wings.

Issei stood ramrod straight and then bowed to them, showing as much respect as he possibly could.

"I'm Issei Hyoudou, the current Red Dragon Emperor. It is an honor to meet you!" Issei said.

Ddraig and Tiamat made themselves known, introducing themselves as well.

**[I am Ddraig. The Heavenly Dragon of Domination]** Ddraig said.

**|I am Tiamat. The Chaos Karma Dragon and Former Dragon King|** Tiamat said politely.

Bael started to laugh raucously at Issei's actions. Metatron giggled behind her hand as she looked at him.

"Dagon was right! You are funny! Get up kid," Bael said in between laughs. He calmed down and wiped a few tears that had formed due to his laughter.

Issei slowly looked up at him. Did he know Dagon?

"How do you know…?" Issei trailed off.

"How do I know Dagon? Well, she's my sis. Why wouldn't I know her?" Bael said, leaning back on the chair.

"Ah, okay. Wait, that's not what I wanted to talk about," Issei said. Metatron looked at him intensely.

"You want to talk about your deal?" she said, guessing. Well not guessing, Metatron knew what he wanted to ask. Her eyes glowed orange for a split second before returning to their normal blue color.

"Y- Yeah," Issei nodded.

"That's a pretty deep hole you dug yourself in their kid," Bael added, raising his hand causing a three glasses shot glasses to fly into his hand. He pulled a bottle of scotch from his desk and poured some into the glasses.

"Want one?" Metatron asked, offering him a shot glass.

"No thanks, I don't drink," Issei thanked, refusing the drink.

"Hmm," Metatron hummed as she downed the glass. "So what do you specifically want to know about deals?" Metatron asked, swirling her glass.

Issei looked down. Did they even know how? Taking a chance, Issei spoke.

"How do you break them?" he blurted out.

"I see," Metatron said, putting her shot glass down.

"Deals are tricky. They're nearly impossible to break," she said. Issei deflated at her words.

"Then I'm screwed then, right? Damned to Hell for all eternity," Issei said.

"Not necessarily. I said nearly impossible. That doesn't mean they're unbreakable," Metatron walked over to the shelf and pulled out a small booklet called Faustian Deals and Their Inner Workings by Mammon. She opened it and flipped until she found the page that she wanted.

"There are three ways to break a deal," she recited. "One, for a deal to be broken, it must be rendered as complete. Complete means that the client is dead and their soul now exists within the Fifth Circle of Hell under the domain of the demon, Alastor."

Issei shivered at the thought. Metatron continued, ignoring his discomfort.

"The other is for a higher demon to forcibly break the deal due to unethical business methods such as manipulating accidents to collect souls early," Bael said, having memorized the book already. "In this event, any soul sent and wrongfully tortured in Hell are wiped of their memories of the place and sent to the Veil for transportation to their respective afterlife."

"The second way is impossible to pull off since Lilith practically stands at the top of Hell's hierarchy being our princess and all," Bael said. "This last one, I'm not sure if you want to hear it."

Issei gulped and steeled his resolve. Any way to get out of his deal no matter how impossible it may seem was good for him. He could do it. He'll do anything to free himself.

"Are you sure?" Metatron asked. "Are you sure that you're capable of breaking the deal with the last method?"

Issei nodded impatiently wanting her to stop beating around the bush. The two looked at each other before nodding.

"The last method to break a deal… is to kill the one holding your contract."

Issei froze. His eyes went wide and his breath started to hitch.

"W- What?" Issei shakily asked. He needed to know that that wasn't the case. That what they said was just him hearing things. Echoes of his mind starting to crumble under the knowledge that his life was on a timer. That he was going to be cruelly ripped away from his loved ones.

"You need to kill your contract holder," Bael clarified.

"You need to kill Lilith," Metatron said.

"N- No! There has to be another way! Can't I just steal the contract from Nee-chan or something!?" Issei demanded.

"No can do kid. Deals are special. A deal acts as an indestructible leash on your soul and keeps you bound to Lilith," Bael said. "Either you die or the one holding the leash dies and you go free."

"I- I can't," Issei said. "I can't kill her."

Metatron looked at him sadly. "It's either you or Lilith, Issei."

"But why does it have to be me? All of this sounds wrong!" Issei protested.

Metatron and Bael exchanged a glance before Metatron began to speak.

"Have you ever read the bible at all in your life? You know, prior to becoming a devil," Metatron asked him.

Issei shook his head, confused at what she was trying to getting at.

"In 95 AD, the Prophet, John, wrote down a series of visions in what would be later known as the Book of Revelations," she shot of whiskey. Metatron went on to explain what the Book of Revelations said and why it mattered to him and to Lilith. After her explanation, Issei fell back a few steps, looking down at the ground in shock.

"I think I'll have that drink now," Issei told them, his eyes hollow. Metatron and Bael stole a glance from each other before Bael poured scotch into a glass and passed it to Issei. Issei grabbed it and downed it in one gulp.

* * *

Irina sat on the roof of a building, swinging her legs, waiting for Issei to come back. Everyone else except for Serafall and Falbium had fallen asleep behind them. It had been several hours since Issei had left. Irina thought back to her meeting with Michael that happened shortly after graduation. Azazel had been there and he wanted a portion of her Grace. When she asked "why?" he merely said that he needed it for something he was working on.

Her eyes felt heavy as they began to slowly close and fall into the sweet embrace of sleep. But as she did, she felt a familiar energy approaching their location. Her violet eyes snapped open and her wings unfurled from her back and she took off, alerting the others.

"IRINA!" Rossweisse called out, taking off after her.

Irina landed at the source of the energy and saw a disheveled Issei. His eyes were hollow and he reeked of alcohol.

"Issei?" she hesitantly called. Issei looked at her and hiccupped.

"Hey *hic* Irina! You look *hic* hot!" he said, wobbling in his steps as he walked to her.

"A- Are you drunk?" she asked him, sniffing the air. Issei hiccupped and started to laugh. Everyone landed next to Irina and took in the sight of a drunk Issei.

"I- Issei?" Rossweisse felt her heart throb in pain when she saw Issei's hollow and inebriated self. The Bond had transmitted all of Issei's sorrow and distress to her and to Irina.

"Rosy!" Issei took a step and fell forward, his face landing in her chest. He began to rub his face in her chest, causing Rossweisse to moan slightly before she pulled him off.

"Aw, come on! We were getting to the best part!" Issei said.

"Issei, let's go home. You're drunk," Ingvild said.

"Naw, I'm fiiin-!" Issei suddenly passed out. Everyone turned and saw Serafall holding her hand out, which had a light blue glow around it. She noticed everyone looking at her and she quickly stuck her hand behind her back and looked around whistling.

"That's one way to do it," Mitsuki said. "Someone grab Aniki."

Kiba and Rossweisse picked up Issei and the two Maou teleported them back to Hyoudou Manor.

* * *

Issei woke up with a groan. His head was killing him and he looked around. Why was he in his room? Weren't they just in Niseko? The sound of the door opening caused him to look at the door. Irina walked in with a bucket and a washcloth. Her eyes looked at Issei, who was sitting on his bed and she placed the bucket down and walked over to him. She pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you okay? You were drunk," Irina said.

"Y- Yeah, I'm sorry you had to see me like that," Issei said."It's just…"

"What?"

"Metatron-sama told me how to break my deal," Issei said.

"Really! That's great!" Irina told him happily. Now he could be free and be with them.

"How do we do it! What do we need?" Irina fired off, ready to make a mental list of anything they needed or what they needed to do to free Issei.

"There are three ways," Issei said, catching her interest.

"What are they?" Irina asked.

"The first way is me dying which we can agree can't happen," he said, causing her to nod. "The second is for a demon higher than Lilith to break the deal which we can agree isn't happening since she's the Big Boss of all Demons."

"What's the third?" Irina asked.

"I have to kill the one holding my contract. I have to kill Nee-chan," Issei said, a few tears escaping his eyes.

"Oh Issei," Irina wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a hug. The two stayed like that for several minutes with Issei crying into her arms, getting her shirt wet. Irina just embraced him, rubbing soothing circles on his back and looked down at her lover sadly.

Everyone was downstairs waiting for Issei and Irina to come down. Rossweisse and Kuroka kept glancing at the stairs every now and then to see if Issei was there. The worry was rolling off them in waves and permeated the entire room like a dense fog. Everyone could feel the weight of it but they didn't care. They were worried as well. Footsteps coming down the staircase could be heard as Issei and Irina walked down.

Issei looked up and saw everyone looking at him with concern in their eyes. He smiled at them and they backed off as he went to go sit on the couch.

"Issei," he looked over to Kuroka. "What happened? Can we break your deal?" she asked.

Issei nodded and everyone sighed in relief. Finally, some good news.

"That's great!" Rossweisse said.

"What do we do to break your deal senpai?" Gasper asked him.

"There are three ways, according to Metatron-sama," Issei said.

"Three?" Vali asked.

"Yeah, the first is for us to find a demon higher than Lilith to nullify the contract which is impossible. Lilith is the highest of the high among demons," Issei said, receiving nods from all of them.

"What's the second, Aniki?" Mitsuki asked him.

"I have to die for the contract to be considered complete and only then, it will be considered void," Issei said, causing them all to grimace.

"And the third?" Kiba asked this time.

"I have to kill the holder of my contract. I have to kill Lilith," Issei said. Everyone froze. Killing Lilith? That task seemed impossible, in and of itself. They all just barely killed Beelzebub, even with the help of the Maou, the Greeks, and the other devil peerages. It was only through luck that they won and now, they had to kill Lilith, who was even more powerful than Beelzebub.

Vali looked at his rival with an intense gaze.

"We'll be there with you Hyoudou," Vali said. "We'll make sure you win. After all, no one can stand against the Two Dragon Emperors," he said.

**[Albion's host is correct, Partner]** Ddraig said.

**|You're not alone, Issei. We're with you every step of the way|** Tiamat reminded him.

Issei smiled at their words.

"Yeah," he replied.

* * *

**Hell**

* * *

Lilith sat on her throne, listening to a demon rattle off soul reports and how their conversion to Spectra was going smoothly. Next to her, Astaroth stood dutifully as her icy gaze looked down on the trembling demon before her.

"Ardat, is that all?" Lilith said, her eyes boring into the demon before her.

"Y- Yes, your highness," she said, stuttering.

"You're dismissed," Lilith said.

The demon nodded and quickly left the throne room. Lilith sighed and stood from her throne. She walked over to one of the windows and looked outside over Grixis, Hell's capital. Demons walked the streets, chatting happily with each other. Some were carrying children with them. She smiled at the sight of her citizens enjoying their lives.

"My Princess," Lilith glanced at Astaroth.

"Yes, Astaroth," she replied.

"We have not made any moves within months. Are you sure it is wise for us to lay low and allow them to build up their forces?" Astaroth asked.

"I admit that a lack of movement on our part is a foolish move but our troops need a break every now and then. We're not like the gods Astaroth, who send their troops constantly to die," Lilith said.

"I understand milady," she replied.

"I do have an assignment for you, however," Lilith said.

"What is it, milady?"

* * *

**Kuoh Town, September 17, 2020, 10:30 AM**

* * *

Issei sat with his head on his hands as he listened to one of his professors go on and on about the importance of communication. Why public speaking was a general education requirement escaped his knowledge. It wasn't like he was ever going to use it in his life ever. Okay, maybe, he might use it due to the fact that he might become a manga/light novel/game designer like Lilith had been before she became all this or a biologist like Azrael when she was in the human world. What surprised him about this class was that Akeno was in it. She sat a few desks down from where he sat and she kept stealing glances at him every now and then. When Issei caught her, he sent her a weak wave to which she quickly averted her gaze as if she wasn't worthy of looking him in the eye.

"Okay, I want you all to get into partners and write a short five-minute speech," the professor said. The minute he said partners, some people immediately went for their friend while the others all crowded around Akeno.

"Himejima-senpai, please partner up with me!"

"Himejima-sama, partner with me!"

"No, please partner with me, Himejima-Onee-Sama!"

Akeno looked at them all with an unnerved smile. She knew she was popular but this… don't these people have friends or something? Her violet eyes trailed to Issei, who was sitting by himself. Steeling herself, Akeno stood up and walked over to him.

"I- Issei. Do you want to be partners with me?" Akeno asked.

"Sure," Issei said. A small smile appeared on Akeno's face as she moved one of the desks next to Issei's and sat down. She pulled out her notebook and turned to a blank page.

"Alright, is everyone partnered up?"

The class responded with a yes.

"Okay, for this short speech, you can talk about anything you want," the professor said. "You have ten minutes to come up with an idea."

He let them go to work and stood at the front waiting. Issei and Akeno began to brainstorm ideas for a short speech.

"How about a DIY?" she suggested.

"A DIY sounds good but what should we teach people?" Issei asked.

"Making tea?"

"Baking a cake?"

"How to talk to oppai?" they both said at once.

"You're not Pailingual…," Issei told her.

"I know… how about…"

After a few minutes, the two decided on how to bake a brownie. They were called up to give their speech and it went off without a hitch. The class ended and Issei and Akeno walked out of the classroom together. They were chatting like nothing had happened between them though if one were to look inside their heads, they felt extremely awkward around each other, not to mention the fact that Issei still felt a bit angry with her.

"Issei," Issei turned to see Artemis and Xenovia walking towards them. Akeno immediately bowed upon seeing Artemis.

"It is an honor to meet you, Artemis-sama," Akeno said.

"Lift your head. We're at a school," Artemis said.

"So, what is it Artemis?" he asked.

"I'm here to tell you that Thalia will be in charge of the hunters and your guard detail while I'm gone after school," she said.

"Huh, are you going somewhere?" Xenovia asked her.

"Yes, my brother is planning to come and stay here for a while to teach an engineering course here at the college. I'm going to help him move here along with Harmonia," Artemis informed her.

"Don't wait up for us after school," Artemis said.

Issei nodded and spoke for a few more minutes with them before walking off to his next class.

* * *

Hiruko was fuming. Another girl just rejected him. He stalked the grounds of Kuoh Academy in a silent rage. Things had gone downhill for him in the school ever since word got out that he tried to force a kiss on the Scottish exchange student, Nancy. He had an inkling that it was those two devil sluts that spread the word. He needed to do something about them and he had just the idea. He would break them but first, he needed something to restrain them. He had asked Tatsuya and Eren for some help, stating that it was for a school project. Eren was the only one who got back to him and said that restraints dipped in holy oil or water can be used to restrain devils. Hiruko thanked him profusely and walked off with his plan in mind and Eren, none the wiser.

Yesterday, he had acquired some holy water from a priest, lying that he was going to use it to glorify God and had bought some handcuffs from an adult toy shop, stating that his parents had forced him to buy it.

Now that he had everything, he just needed to get them alone. Hiruko spotted Koneko talking to a girl with violet hair and orange eyes. He had seen her around the house a couple of times. Ingvild, if he remembered her name correctly. He licked his lips, his eyes full of lust. Perhaps she would make a good addition. Besides, if he was going to do it, he might as well go for her too.

The bell rang, signaling that class was beginning once more and everyone began walking to their classes. Hiruko waited patiently for class to end so that he could strike. The hours passed and the bell rang once more dismissing the other students. He spotted Koneko and Ravel walking out but not Ingvild. In fact, the girl just disappeared into thin air. Shrugging, he figured that she left early and sighed at the missed opportunity but reminded himself that he still had two to play with. Pulling out a bottle of holy water, Hiruko followed the two as they began to walk to the ORC room. As they rounded the corner that obscured them from the view of the other students, Hiruko walked over rapidly to them and tapped Ravel on the shoulder.

Ravel was talking to Koneko about which ice cream flavor was better: chocolate or vanilla. When she felt someone tap her shoulder, Ravel turned and saw Hiruko. The next thing she knew was a pain. Intense burning pain. Ravel screamed and grabbed her face. Koneko didn't have time to react as Hiruko sprayed her face with holy water as well. As the two writhed in pain, Hiruko placed Ravel in a chokehold to knock her out. Ravel struggled to breathe and her vision began to swim. Eventually, her struggles ceased as she passed out. Koneko struggled to open her eyes and see through the pain. Hiruko towered menacingly over her and he placed his bag down on the ground. He opened it and pulled out a crowbar and the last thing Koneko saw was Hiruko swinging it to her face.

* * *

Kuroka waited patiently for her sister to arrive at the gates of Kuoh. Her left foot tapped impatiently and she looked down at her watch.

"Kuroka," she turned and saw Issei, Akeno, and Mitsuki walking towards her.

"Hey, nya~," Kuroka said.

"Are you waiting for Koneko-chan?" Akeno asked.

"Yeah, but she still isn't here. It's been forty-five minutes," Kuroka said.

"We should go in," Mitsuki said.

"Yeah," Kuroka said, her golden eyes shining with worry. The four decided to split up and Xenovia went with Mitsuki to the ORC where they knew that Asia and Eren were there at the moment.

Issei and Kuroka began to scour the school grounds with Kuroka gathering nature energy. Her eyes snapped open as her eyes became more feline. She felt for Koneko's ki signature. Her eyes flitted from building to building searching for any traces. Her face visibly lit up when she sensed Koneko's ki within the gym equipment building.

"I found her," she said.

"Where?" Issei asked.

"She's in the equipment shed," Kuroka informed him as she took off.

"Why would she be in the shed?" Issei asked.

"Who knows? Maybe Asia wanted something from the shed?" she said.

"Hmmm," Issei said.

* * *

Koneko's eyes fluttered open as she felt a throbbing pain in her head. She turned and saw that she was in the school equipment shed. Her eyes trailed to Ravel, who was also awake.

"Ravel…," Koneko groaned.

"Looks like you're awake," the two snapped their heads in the direction of the voice. Hiruko sat on one of the boxes with a sick grin on his face.

"Hiruko?" Koneko asked.

"Yeah, it's me," he said.

"What are you doing? Let us go!" Ravel said, struggling against the handcuffs.

"Uh uh! There's no breaking those. They're enchanted and soaked in Holy Water," Hiruko said.

"What do you want from us?" Koneko asked fearfully. Hiruko's grin threatened to split his face in half. He walked over and began to caress Koneko's body. His hands traveled over to her small breasts and pinched one of her nipples. Koneko's eyes widened as tears began to gather at the edges.

"No! Please stop!" she said.

"Stop? No, I'm not stopping. I'm saving you for last," Hiruko said. He walked over to Ravel and began to tear off her clothes. He roughly ripped her bra off and began to roughly grope her breasts.

"NOOO!" Ravel protested as Hiruko began to pull down her panties. He silenced her by pressing his mouth against hers, muffling her screams. Tears streamed down her face as Hiruko continued to violate her with his hands Hiruko pulled his pants down and revealed his erect member.

"I hope you're as excited as I am, Ravel-chan~," Hiruko said, lining his member up with her pussy.

"YOU BASTARD!" Koneko yelled as she watched Hiruko prepare to put himself inside her.

The door's burst open, stopping him in his tracks.

Issei and Kuroka approached the doors of the equipment shed. A feeling of unease spread through their entire bodies. Issei tried to open the door but frowned when he noticed that the door was locked.

"It's locked," Issei said.

"Do you think they keep the keys here?" Kuroka asked.

"Yeah, fuck keys," Issei said as he waved his hand. A clicking sound was heard and Issei twisted the knob. Their eyes widened in horror and disgust when they saw a pantless Hiruko and a nude Ravel Phenex. He had her restrained and was about to rape her. Kuroka's rage skyrocketed when she saw her little sister chained to one of the boxes.

The sound of the door opening had stopped Hiruko in his tracks as he turned around, grabbing the crowbar next to him. His eyes widened when he saw Issei and Kuroka, whose entire form was now wreathed in cobalt and black flames. Her fangs were bared as her left eye turned green. Two flaming tails appeared behind her. She took a step forward, leaving scorched footprints with every step.

"You worthless sack of flesh dare touch my sister in such a manner! I'll rip your insides out after I remove that piece of flesh you call a dick and shove it down your throat!" Kuroka said, her voice sounding bestial.

Hiruko yelped and swung the crowbar. Kuroka caught it with her right hand and the metal tool began to melt in her grasp. Kuroka grabbed his arm and Hiruko screamed in pain as he felt his flesh begin to burn. She threw him to the ground and slammed her foot on his chest.

Her hand reached down to Hiruko's member and trailed down to his testicles. Claws grew from her fingertips and in a slow-motion, Hiruko screamed and Issei flinched unconsciously as he heard the sound of flesh tearing. Kuroka's eyes glowed as she forced fire to engulf the wound, searing it shut. Hiruko sat there breathing heavily. She looked down at him in disgust and forcefully opened his mouth. She shoved Hiruko's testicles down his mouth.

"You disgust me," she said. Issei placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a look. She ran over to the two girls and began to tend to them. Ravel was clinging to Kuorka like a lifeline. She held her hand out and Issei handed her his jacket. She wrapped it around Ravel before pulling out and walking over to her sister. Koneko was holding herself and Kuroka enveloped her in a hug.

"O- ONEE-SAMA!" Koneko wailed as she buried her face in Kuroka's chest. Kuroka hugged her tightly and began to stroke her hair.

"It's okay, Nee-sama is here," Kuroka said. Her eyes trailed down to Hiruko's prone, disfigured form and glared at him.

Issei formed a CC and called Asia.

"_Issei-san?_" Asia's voice was heard.

"Asia, I need you to come here and call Rias," Issei said.

"_U- Um, okay?"_ Asia said.

Issei glared with utter hate down at shaking and sobbing Hiruko. He lifted his foot and slammed it down on Hiruko's chest, breaking Hiruko's sternum as well as shattering seven of his ribs. He then grabbed Hiruko's arm and snapped it into multiple pieces.

"P- Please! Stop!" Hiruko begged.

"I'm done yet," Issei said, his hand moving down to Hiruko's leg. Issei suddenly grabbed his leg and brought it down over his knee, snapping his leg in half.

"Ravel," Issei said, softly. She tightened her embrace around him. Kuroka looked at him and her eyes looked down at Ravel. Issei removed his arms from her and gently pushed her off. Ravel looked around with fear in her eyes and screamed when she saw Hiruko.

After a few minutes, Rias and the others arrived to see an unconscious Hiruko and Issei, who was holding Ravel.

"What happened!?" Rias demanded as she knelt next to Hiruko.

"That sick fuck tried to rape Shirone and Ravel!" Kuroka told her, her eyes narrowing in disgust as she looked down at Hiruko's body. Rias's face twisted in disgust as she looked down at Hiruko.

"Akeno, call Nii-sama and Lord and Lady Phenex," Rias said, as she walked over and kicked Hiruko in his already damaged ribs.

Hiruko groaned as he opened his eyes and saw Rias standing over him, glaring hatefully at him.

"You're going to rot forever," Rias said, slamming her foot in his face sending him into unconsciousness once more.

"Ravel," Rias bent down to look at Ravel.

Ravel's hollow blue eyes looked into Rias's worried ones. "We're going to get you help," Rias said.

"Issei," Rias said, holding her hands out for Ravel.

"Take care of her," Issei said, handing Ravel over to Rias. Ravel struggled and tried to stay in Issei's grasp but soothing words from Rias calmed her down.

"We'll take Koneko home," Issei said. Rias nodded and formed a magic circle and disappeared in a flash of red light with Ravel.

"Goddamnit!" Issei said, punching the wall caving it in.

"Shirone," Kuroka said soothingly. "I'm taking you home."

* * *

"How is she?" Irina asked as she stood with Issei at the door to Kuroka's room. She sat on a chair as Koneko slept in her bed.

"She went to sleep and had a few nightmares but other than that, she's fine," Issei said.

"How awful. No one should have to experience something like that," Irina said.

"That bastard better get sent to Cocytus," Issei said. Irina nodded, her fist shaking as yellow flames formed at her fingertips.

"Can you guys be quiet? I just got her to sleep," Kuroka asked as she walked to the door.

"Sorry," the two said at the same time. A buzzing sound alerted them, signifying that they had a guest at the front door.

"I'll go get it," Issei said as he walked towards the stairs. He walked upstairs to the first floor and made his way to the front door. He opened it revealing Artemis and Hephaestus standing on the doorstep.

"Heph," Issei greeted.

"Hey kid," Hephaestus greeted.

"Dad!" Hephaestus was glomped by Harmonia who hugged the life out of him.

"Hey baby girl," Hephaestus said, returning the embrace.

"Hey, Artemis. Welcome back," Issei said. She smiled and nodded before walking past him and into the living room where she was immediately greeted by her hunters. Issei and Hephaestus chuckled.

Issei invited him in and took Hephaestus upstairs and showed him to the guest room. As Hephaestus unpacked his stuff with Issei's help, Hephaestus began to speak up.

"I heard that you visited Metatron and Bael," he said as he took out a wrench.

"Oh, you heard about that?" Issei said as he put a box down.

"Yeah, Azrael told me when she visited my forge to give me an update on the situation," Hephaestus said, unpacking several tools.

Issei looked down and focused on removing the tape from the package.

"Did she tell you anything important?" Hephaestus asked, his hazel eyes looking directly at him.

"Yeah, I have to kill Nee-chan," Issei said.

Hephaestus regarded him silently before letting loose a heavy sigh.

"I k- know that you love her and she's my sister. This isn't going to be easy for me either," Issei said.

"And how easy do you think it will be for her?" Hephaestus asked.

"...," Issei went silent. Lilith probably had a hard time coming to terms with this as well.

"We'll find a way," Hephaestus said. "There always is."

"Yeah," Issei responded, trying to see it in the way of the others. With optimism and hope. A hope that had long since crumbled to dust ever since he heard Metatron's words.

Issei excused himself and exited the room. Taking a walk around the house, Issei found himself standing outside the door of his room. He walked inside and sat down on his bed, staring at his desk.

"What do I do now?" Issei said to himself.

**[The best we can do is prepare]** Ddraig said to him.

"How can I possibly prepare to do something that's borderline impossible?" Issei asked him.

**|I don't know but know that you don't have to do this alone. You have me. You have Ddraig. You have your friends, your family, and your lovers. You need to stop bottling this up inside of you|** Tiamat told him.

Issei went silent. He hadn't been completely honest with how he felt about his entire ordeal with the others but he always had an inkling that they knew how he felt but kept silent out of respect.

"I- You're right," Issei said.

**|Of course, we're right. Issei. How did you win when you battle Beelzebub? Or when Trihexa was released into the world?|** Tiamat said.

"With the others. We won all of our important battles together," Issei replied.

**[Exactly. You were never alone Issei]** Ddraig said.

"This will be the hardest fight we're ever going to fight," Issei said.

**[We've fought worse. The Beast makes this woman look like an insect]** Ddraig told him.

"Heh," Issei said. He smiled. Their words made him feel better if only slightly. Issei still had doubts but those doubts lessened the more he thought about what they had said. Still, though, he had to take some precautions. Get his affairs in order just in case he was to die. He walked over to his desk and sat down, pulling out the same piece of paper he had been writing on. He tore the paper to shreds and took out a fresh sheet. Grabbing a pencil, Issei began to write.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 110**

**File Name: Metatron**

**GPS Ranking: Unknown, Possibly B Rank Deity Class**

**Info:**

**Metatron is the first Angel to be created by God after the Archangels making her the eldest Angel. She is hailed by her fellow angels as the most powerful angel to ever exist. Metatron was one of the people God had considered to take the throne of Heaven should he ever retire. Metatron is a Seraph and the older twin sister of Samael. She was also the creator and transcriber of the Word of God. Metatron remained neutral during the Holy War and preferred to keep as many innocent beings out of it.**

**Notes:**

**Dantalion: ... Lady Metatron is a chuunibyou. She pretends that she's a ninja when she's not running a bar.**

**File End**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 652**

**File Name: Bael**

**GPS Ranking: EX- Deity Class**

**Info:**

**Bael is a Prince of Hell and the Sin of Wrath. He is the oldest of the Princes. Like most of his siblings, Bael retired after the Holy War disillusioned by the carnage and loss of life becoming withdrawn and jaded from the world. He eloped with the Seraph Metatron after falling in love with her shortly after the Holy War ended.**

**Notes:**

**Eric Marshall: This guy knows his booze.**

**File End**

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**OechsnerC: I wonder how things are going to go now. Awesome update.**

**Thanksies!**

**18Andrew: Great Chapter**

**Aww, thank you**

**SkellZero: Good work, I think Metatron might tell Issei that it would be possible but very hard to break a link with one as strong as Lilith and I wanna see more Issei and Artemis shipping, they would make a nice couple**

**I'm glad you enjoy the Issei and Artemis shipping.**

**AnimeFan0216: the plot gets thicker and thicker and cannot get any thinner. What will Metatron say to Issei? Is it something like "It is already written and must come to pass." Well she is a scribe, she might have any idea on the written destinies of all creation, right?**

**She does. If you can find the little thing I hid in there. I was also being vague with her whole book of revelations thing.**

* * *

**Well well well I hope you liked the chappie. If you want to know why Metatron's wings are still white despite her having kids, you'll have to wait a few chapters to find out why. I'm going to slowly put it in. Angels being able to reproduce again without falling. Anyway, I placed a little something something in the last chapter that I'm surprised no one noticed or wanted to know the contents to. Five internet points to whoever can guess what the Tablet in Metatron's Office is. The first person to guess correctly will get insider information on it as it isn't important to the story overall. REVIEW! PLEEEEEAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Also follow and fav. And remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!~**


	39. Justice of the Wronged

**Alright, let's talk about the last chapter. I know what you all want to hear from me. Why the r pe scene? Well for one, if you paid attention to Hiruko at all this entire season, you should have seen this coming from the moment he tried it on Nancy if any of you remember from a few chapters back. Also, please imagine how I must have felt writing and reading that scene. Trust me, that was difficult for me to write and I almost threw up a few times but held it in. So the question is why Ravel? Well, one, I'm not bashing Ravel nor any of the girls. In fact, I haven't since Season 1 ended. This has all been all about building bridges. So yeah, why Ravel? Well for one, she's a member of an important family. Rias wouldn't work since she would vaporize him and catch his attempt to crowbar her with her heightened battle skills from the war. I figured that if I was going to do this, I might as well use the next person from one of the Pillars and unfortunately, Ravel was the only one other than Koneko, don't forget she was there too, to be close to him so he has more motivation to do it to those two. **

**But that's enough about me, let's let you read this chappie.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 10, 2020, 7:35 AM; Current Time: 1 Minute and 40 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei stood in the kitchen, holding a spatula and cooking his tenth egg. He wore a black jacket and grey track pants as well as a white apron that said: "Kiss the Cook". Hearing a yawn, Issei turned and saw Artemis walking into the kitchen. She was wearing a grey tank top and grey shorts.

The goddess rubbed her eyes sleepily as she stretched and yawned. A lovely smell entered her nose as she felt herself begin to salivate. She fully opened her silver eyes and spotted Issei cooking food. Issei smiled at her and Artemis felt her face begin to heat up.

"Good morning, Artemis," Issei said.

"G- Good morning," Artemis said, looking away from him. Issei smiled before returning his focus to the food before he burned down the entire kitchen.

"D- Do you need any help?" Artemis asked.

Issei looked up from the pan and blinked. "Um, yeah, can you finish cooking these eggs for me while I get started on the bacon," Issei said.

Artemis nodded and Issei handed her the spatula and walked over to the fridge and began to grab two packs of bacon. Ever since the incident, Issei had forced Ravel and the other girls to move back into the house in case Yuu and Tatsuya had tried anything (Asia and Eren were still dating) so he had to prepare a massive breakfast for the increase in occupants.

"Hey, thanks for the help," Issei said, thanking her.

"D- Don't think this is because I w- wanted to help you or anything! I- I just wanted to make sure that the food was edible!" Artemis said with a massive blush on her face.

"Um, okay?" Issei said.

The two cooked in silence and soon, several footsteps were heard descending the stairs. Irina walked into the kitchen in her PJ's and grabbed a glass and poured herself some water.

"Good morning Ise-kun, Artemis-sama," Irina said groggily.

"Good morning Rin," Issei said. Irina walked over and pecked Issei on the cheek before walking to the sink and washing her hands. Artemis pouted at their blatant display of affection and resolved to kiss Issei on the cheek when no one was looking and maybe even… hold hands.

Artemis's face went red at the thought.

_Holding hands!? What are you thinking!? He's your friend, not your fuck toy! Holding hands is too lewd!_ She thought as she continued to cook the bacon.

Eventually, everyone came downstairs and sat at the table. Lily and Magala sat next to each other, sleepily drank from their glass. Kuroka sat next to Koneko, who was looking better but still looked shaken from her experience. Issei glanced over to Ravel, who was sitting next to Rias and Akeno and had a blank look in her eyes. The girl had retreated into her mind after the event. Issei was able to get a response from her as well as Kuroka and Rias.

"Ravel," Issei said, looking at her. The girl looked up to him and fixed a smile on her face that everyone present could easily tell was false.

"He's going to pay, you know that right?," Issei said. Ravel nodded and returned her gaze to her meal.

Issei sighed and sat down in his chair. Hiruko had been reported to the authorities on the charges of attempted rape and assault. His trial had been set in stone the minute they began and no amount of money that Hiruko's parents could pay even though his parents had a massive amount of it due to overseas ventures, could get him out of the hole he dug himself in. In the end, his parents had disowned him and cut his name from the family fortune and Hiruko was carted off to a maximum-security prison.

However, along the way, Hiruko was taken by devils to the underworld where he was being held for his trial.

Yesterday, Grayfia had come and asked Ravel if she was okay to testify against Hiruko. Kuroka expressed anger at the fact that he was getting a trial but Grayfia said that they needed to make it official and reminded her that Koneko got a trial for her actions despite it not being a fair one.

And today was his trial in the Underworld. Issei had heard that the judge presiding over the trial was from the Belial Family and that Hiruko was given a lawyer. The trial was set to start at noon so they needed to get ready. Issei walked upstairs and changed into grey jeans and a red shirt with a grey jacket. He walked out of his room and saw Grayfia talking with Ravel.

"Ojou-sama. It's time for you to go to the room for the trial. Are you sure that you'll be okay with being near him?" Grayfia asked.

"I- I'll be fine," Ravel said.

"I'll be there Grayfia to prevent anything from happening," Risa said, walking out of her room.

"Risa-dono," Grayfia bowed. Risa walked over to Ravel and looked down at the girl.

"You'll be fine. I'll make sure nothing happens to you," Risa reassured her, smiling.

"We'll be there too, Ravel," Issei said, making his presence known. "I'm sorry for not getting there in time but we'll make sure this bastard gets what he deserves," he said to her. Ravel looked at him and a small smile graced her face, a real one this time.

She nodded and walked over to Grayfia.

"I know it must be hard to confront your would-be rapist but just remember, this wasn't your fault," Grayfia told her. The silver-haired maid formed a red magic circle underneath herself and Ravel and disappeared to the Underworld.

Risa turned to Issei and walked over to him.

"Are the others ready?" she asked.

"Almost. Irina and Rossweisse are still in their rooms I think," Issei said.

"Walk with me," Risa said, heading for the elevator.

"We're not taking the stairs?" Issei asked.

"No," she said.

The two entered the elevator and Risa pressed the button for the first floor. Issei looked at the tanuki angel as she waited for the button to hit the first floor.

"I heard that you visited Metatron-sama," she said.

"Oh. Yeah, we did," Issei said.

"I'm glad you managed to find her. Raphael-sama and Gabriel-sama have been worried sick for years," Risa said.

"Oh, it was no problem. I'm glad that you and the others are happy," Issei said.

Risa looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that a flirtation?" she asked.

"A what?" Issei said.

"A flirtation," Risa clarified.

"Eh?"

"Are you flirting with me?" Risa asked.

"What!? No!" Issei said.

"I'm messing with you," Risa said, laughing at his discomfort. The elevator dinged and the two walked out with Issei pout-glaring at Risa.

Issei turned away and saw the others waiting for him. Rias saw Issei and walked over.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Are any of us?" Issei told her. Rias looked at him sadly.

"He's going to suffer you know," Rias told him.

"We should have killed him then and there," Issei said.

"I know," Rias replied. Everyone gathered around the two and Rias formed a large magic circle and teleported them all to the Underworld.

* * *

**Ars Nova, 11:35 AM**

* * *

They arrived at the massive double door of the ever-imposing Ars Nova. Guards were lined up at the doors, preventing any journalist from any of the devil or supernatural news outlets from getting inside the house. Shaking their heads, the group walked to the door only to freeze when one of the reporters noticed them.

"Hey, Chichiryuutei-sama! Gremory-Sama!" he yelled. Like a pack fo prairie dogs, their heads all turned simultaneously in their direction. Issei and Rias began to slowly take a few steps back before breaking into a sprint for the front doors. Their respective groups took off after them as they tried to outrun the nosy reporters. Upon reaching the door, Issei rushed passed the guard followed by Rias and the rest of Eden Squad and Gremory Peerage. The guards shook their heads and slammed the doors shut preventing any of the reporters from getting inside.

"Hah, hah, I never liked them," Rias said between pants.

"Me too, Buchou," Issei said. Rias snapped her head in his direction when he had said that.

"W- What?" Rias said, stuttering in shock.

"Huh?" Issei looked at her in confusion.

"N- Nothing," Rias looked away not wanting to push him.

"Ah, you're all here," they all looked up and saw Riser, for once his suit buttoned up. Next to him, Yubelluna stood there with a binder filled with papers. She wore violet rimmed glasses and a maroon one-piece suit. Seeing Rias, she bowed.

"Rias-sama," she said.

Rias nodded and stood to meet Riser's eyes.

"Riser."

"Rias."

Rias walked forward and wrapped Riser in an embrace which he returned. Tears of anger and hatred streamed down Riser's face as flames began to flicker around his entire form.

"We're going to get him," she said, pulling away.

"That bastard will burn forever for what he tried to do to my precious sister," Riser said.

Issei walked up to Riser and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"If you ever need to talk, I'm here. I know how it feels when someone hurts your sister," Issei said. Riser wiped his tears off with his sleeve and nodded.

"Let's go," Riser said and led them all into the courtroom. Unlike the courtrooms in the human world, the courtrooms within the underworld were larger than the ones on Earth. A jury sat on the side, comprised of devils that glared down at Hiruko. The ORC and Eden Squad glared hatefully, sending waves of highly potent killing intent at the grey-haired boy. Hiruko flinched when he saw them and cowered in his seat. His lawyer looked at him without any hint of sympathy, her cold green eyes boring into him and she turned her gaze back to her papers.

On the other side were Lord and Lady Phenex, who sat with a trembling Ravel. Her lawyer sat, sighing and stating that they should get this over with. He exchanged glances with the Defense Attorney and sent her a look of sympathy. She looked at him and waved him off with a small smile.

A wave of power caused everyone to stand up and turn to face the being that entered the room. It was Sirzechs Lucifer and Grayfia Lucifuge. He raised his hand and they all sat down. Sirzechs and Grayfia walked over and sat down next to Eden Squad and the ORC.

A bailiff walked into the room and spoke to them all. "Please rise," the bailiff said and everyone stood up. A man with silver hair and blue eyes walked into the room. He wore dark robes and stood at the Judge's stand. "The Supreme Court of Lilith, Criminal Division, is now in order, session the Honorable Judge Charles Belial presiding."

Charles stood there, looking out over the crowd. "Everyone but the jury may be seated. Mr. Belphegor, please swear them in."

Bailiff Belphegor swore in all the members of the jury and they sat down as the judge signaled for the trial to get underway. Charles looked at both the defense and the prosecutors. This was going to be a very quick trial as the defense looked like she didn't even want to be here. The Bailiff stood and introduced the case as the Peoples of the Underworld vs Hiruko Yukikaze.

Charles looked to the defense. "Is the prosecution ready?"

The lawyer stood up and faced Charles. "Yes, your honor," he said.

"Is the defense ready?"

The woman sighed and stood to her feet. "Yes, your honor," she said with a small frown on her face.

"Your Honor, members of the Jury, my name is Arthur Dantalion and I am representing the Phenex Family. I intend to prove today before you ladies and gentlemen of the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, that Hiruko Yukikaze is guilty of the attempted rape of Shirone 'Koneko' Toujou and Ravel Phenex of the Phenex Family. Thank you," Arthur said, pushing his glasses up and sitting down. The woman stood next.

"Your honor, ladies, and gentlemen of the Jury, my name is Ariana Abaddon and I am representing… Hiruko Yukikaze," she said, trying to hide the venom in her voice. "I will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is innocent of these so-called crimes

Charles nodded and told Arthur that he could begin.

"You may now call up your first witness," he said. Arthur nodded and stood up.

"The defense calls Koneko Toujou to the stand," Arthur said.

Koneko stood from her seat and was walked up to the witness stand. She stood in the witness stand and the bailiff walked over to her. She was sworn in and sat down on the stand.

Arthur walked around before her and looked Koneko in the eye.

"Ms. Toujou, where were you and Ms. Phenex on September 17, 2020, at the time school ended?" Arthur asked.

"We were headed to the Occult Research Club building to meet with Asia to finalize the transfer of the position of President to Ravel," Koneko said.

"I see, I see," Arthur said.

"We're you aware that you were being followed?" he asked.

"No, not at the time," she said.

"Hmmm," Arthur said, analyzing her. "No further questions your honor."

"The defense may now cross-examine the witness," Charles said. Ariana begrudgingly stood to her feet and walked until she stood in front of Koneko.

"Ms. Toujou, is it true that you and the defendant were once in a relationship?" Ariana asked.

"Y- Yes, we were," Koneko said. "But we broke up after he cheated on us and when he tried to force himself on the Prophet."

Ariana nodded, not even trying to cross-examine the girl. "No further questions your honor," she said.

Ariana walked over and sat down next to Hiruko. As she sifted through her papers looking at the nonexistent evidence to prove his innocence, she felt Hiruko's hand on her shoulder.

"What the hell!? You're not even trying to defend me!" he whisper-screamed as Arthur stood up and called Kuroka to the stand.

"I can assure you Yukikaze-san that I am trying my hardest to defend you," she said, lying through her teeth.

"And then I saw him with about to defile Ravel and Shirone-chan! I just got so mad an-"

"You lying bitch! They consented! It was all roleplay!"

Kuroka's golden eyes became furious as she rounded in on him. "WHAT!? YOU LITTLE PIECE O-"

The slamming of a gavel brought everyone back down to Earth as Charles banged his gavel.

"ORDER! Ms. Toujou, please refrain from acting like that in the courtroom once more," Charles said. "That goes to you too as well boy!"

The two nodded and Kuroka sat back down in her chair.

"Your honor, I have no further questions," Arthur said.

"Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?" Charles asked Ariana. She flipped her blonde hair and looked at Charles.

"No, your honor," Ariana said.

Hiruko turned to her, furious.

"What the hell!? We could have cross-examined that lying slut! It was so obvious that she was!" Hiruko said.

"No, we couldn't. We're not exactly winning here Mr. Yukikaze and I had no hope that we ever could but I felt that I should at least try to preserve whatever dignity I may have as a lawyer after this trial," Ariana said to him quietly.

"Fine but do whatever you have to do to win this trial. If you do win, my family and I shall pay you handsomely," Hiruko said, trying to bribe her. He knew that he didn't have anything to bribe her but it wasn't like she knew that. That would be his little secret.

Ariana's eyebrow twitched. _Did that little punk just try to…?_ She thought. What could he possibly offer her? She had looked into him before she was forcibly assigned to this case. He was tried in the human world for attempted rape and was found guilty and as a result, his parents had disowned him and cut him from the family fortune.

"Fine," she said.

"And for your third witness, Mr. Dantalion?" Charles said.

"We call Eren Yatogami to the stand," Arthur said. The doors to the right opened to reveal Eren, who was dressed in a suit, walked over to the stand and stood there. The Bailiff walked over and began the oath.

"Do you swear to say the truth and nothing but the truth?" the bailiff asked.

"I do," Eren said. The Bailiff nodded to the judge and Eren walked to the stand. Arthur walked up to Eren and began to talk.

"Yatogami-san, where were you on September 15, 2020, at 4:30 PM?" Arthur asked him.

"I was at home doing schoolwork and planning my next date with Asia. It's almost our anniversary you see so I wanted to take her out somewhere nice," Eren said.

"Hmmm, I see. What else happened?"

"Objection your honor. He's asking a leading question," Ariana said.

"Sustained. Please refrain from doing that, Mr. Dantalion," Charles said.

"Yes, your honor. Mr. Yatogami, do you know what these are?" Arthur said, signaling for the bailiff to bring forth the handcuffs.

"Thos are handcuffs sir, the ones used in bed," Eren said.

Arthur pulled another object out. Eren's eyes widened when he saw what it was and where the man was going with it. He turned to Hiruko in shock and disgust.

"Do you know what these are?" Arthur asked.

"Holy water," he gulped.

Arthur sighed and made eye contact with the judge. Seeing that he had the judge's silent approval, Arthur swooped in for the kill. "Yatogami-san were you at all aware that these handcuffs had been enchanted and laced with holy water? All the proper components needed to restrain and suppress the powers of a devil?"

"What? No! He said he needed it for a school history project. The holy water and methods to restrain demons," Eren said.

"Hmm, I see," Arthur said.

"Were you in Kuoh Academy on September 17th?"

"Yes, I was."

"Where?"

"The Occult Research Club Room."

"Is there anyone who can corroborate this evidence?" Arthur said, pushing up his glasses.

"Asia Argento," Eren said.

"We have no further questions, your honor," Arthur said.

"Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?" Charles asked.

"Yes, your honor," Ariana said, walking up to the stand. Her green eyes analyzed Eren's body language, his breathing rate, and all his facial expressions, no matter how minute.

"Yatogami-san, what are you to the defendant?" she asked.

"We're friends, or at least we were," Eren said.

"Tell me, did you have any knowledge at all that he would have planned this?" Ariana asked.

"No, I had no idea," Eren said.

"You lying fuck! You said that you wanted to split them 50/50!" Hiruko burst out.

"What!? What the flying hell are you talking about!?" Eren said.

"Yes, you did! You said you wanted the purple-haired one!" Hiruko screeched. Charles flared his power and they both calmed down.

"Is he lying?" Ariana asked him.

"No!" Eren denied. Her eyes glowed green for a split second before smiling.

"No further questions your Honor," Ariana said.

"Just a second Ms. Abaddon. What did the Truth Discernment spell say?" Charles asked.

"He wasn't lying," she merely stated.

Hiruko fumed. This slut of a defense attorney was useless. She didn't even try to prove his innocence which he fully believed that he was. He did nothing wrong. Hiruko was merely claiming his property. His bangs covered his eyes as he sat down next to Ariana.

"Does the defense have any witnesses to call to the stand?" Charles asked.

"No your honor. Unfortunately not," she said.

"What!? What the hell do you mean that we have no witnesses!?" Hiruko demanded.

"It is just as I said. We have no one willing to testify in your favor," Ariana explained.

"I'm a witness and a victim!" he said.

Ariana sighed and looked at Charles who shrugged.

"Very well, the defense calls Hiruko Yukikaze to the stand," Ariana said.

Hiruko strutted over to the bailiff but not before winking at Ravel. She flinched at his action. Riser jumped up from his chair and flew to Hiruko only to be restrained by Issei and Mitsuki.

"Let me go! I'll kill that fucker!" Riser said as he tried to break free from the grip of the Hyoudou twins.

"Calm down. Just get him later," Mitsuki whispered. Riser relaxed and sat back down in his chair. Issei and Mitsuki sent their worst glares at Hiruko both flaring their power. The boy yelped and hurried his way over to the bailiff.

"Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?" the bailiff asked.

"I do," he said.

"Please have a seat," the bailiff said. Hiruko nodded and walked over to the stand sitting down.

Ariana stood in front of Hiruko and began to think of some questions to ask him that didn't make her look like an idiot in front of everyone.

"Yukikaze-san, where were you on the day of the incident?" Ariana asked, staring her client in the eye.

"I was preparing to go on a date with my girlfriends of course. They're the ones bringing up false charges against me," Hiruko said. The crowd's faces twisted into one of disbelief and further disgust and hatred.

"We met up behind the school and decided to go into the school's equipment shed. We were about to do the thing before the Sekiryuutei and the Black Cat broke down to the door and assaulted me as I was about to make love to my girlfriend. And then they had the gall to mutilate me!" Hiruko said.

Ariana looked at him with a blank stare that hid her disbelief very well. She could not believe how insane this guy was. Really? Making love. The Phenex Child was traumatized for Satan's sake! Her green eyes narrowed for a split second before turning to the judge, who was looking at the boy with utter disbelief. The jury seemed to be in the same state as some of them began to shake in fury.

"No further questions your honor," Ariana said, walking back and sitting down. She looked at Hiruko who sent her a smug grin as if he had just proved himself innocent.

"Would the prosecution like to cross-examine the witness?" Charles asked.

"Yes, your Honor," Arthur said, walking up to the stand. Hiruko's face twisted up in annoyance and looked at the man as if he was a stain on his shoe.

"Yukikaze-san, from what my client has told me, she had broken up with you. So why were you with her?" Arthur asked.

"What? We never broke up. That was just a heat of the moment thing," Hiruko said.

"I see. So you had her consent when it came to what happened in the shed?" Arthur asked.

"Of course. But even if she resisted a little, she would have been begging for more anyway," Hiruko said with a grin. Arthur shook in rage before a dark grin made its way to his face.

"Your Honor," Arthur said without looking at Charles.

"You may," the judge said. Arthur motioned for the Bailiff to bring out a holo-projector and pulled out a small memory card.

"You wouldn't mind if I play this to see if what you say is true would you?" Arthur asked.

Hiruko snorted. What could they possibly have against him? He was innocent.

"Of course," he said.

Arthur sighed and inserted the SD card. The crowd gasped when they saw it. Every detail. Every action that he had performed. From the moment that he knocked them out with a crowbar to the moment that they were in the shed. Hiruko's face twisted in shock and anger before he looked at the man. Activating his Sacred Gear, Hiruko moved to attack him only for vines to restrain him. He looked and saw the Bailiff with his eyes glowing.

"W- Where did you get that!?" Hiruko demanded.

"Ah, Ms. Phenex here volunteered to submit her own memories of the events as well as magi-cam footage that is set up around the school and in the equipment shed. Those are mostly used for security and to prevent people from stealing from the shed," Arthur explained.

"T- That's been edited! That's not me!" Hiruko yelled.

"Did you not say earlier that you were about to 'make love' to your girlfriend in an earlier testimony?" Arthur asked.

"What I- I never said that!?" Hiruko denied. Arthur looked to the courtroom recorder and he pulled up the page and recited the words Hiruko had said.

"We met up behind the school and decided to go into the school's equipment shed. We were about to do the thing before the Sekiryuutei and the Black Cat broke down to the door and assaulted me as I was about to make love to my girlfriend," the court recorder said.

Hiruko went white and began to stammer, trying to find a way out of this hole that he was just thrown into.

"I believe that I have no further questions, your Honor," Arthur said, sitting down.

"You may step down," Charles said to Hiruko. The boy walked off the stand and stormed back to the defendant's table.

"Both the prosecution and the defense have now rested their cases. The attorneys will now present their final arguments. Please remember, what the attorneys say is NOT evidence. However, do listen closely. They are intended to aid you in understanding the case. Prosecutor, you may begin," Charles said to Arthur.

"Thank you, your Honor. Thank you, your Honor. Members of the jury, today you have heard testimony about Hiruko's crimes against the Phenex Family and the Rook of Lady Gremory. I would like to remind you of some important information that you should consider in your decision. These facts include the video footage and the memories submitted by Lady Phenex as well as the testimonies provided by various witnesses that have taken their time to testify in this trial. First, the testimony of a fellow victim, Tojou Koneko, who was there with her. The second being his own friend, Eren Yatogami, who stated that he looked for ways to restrain devils. The third witness being Kuroka Tojou who herself witnessed the action in progress. We have presented clear and concise evidence to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We only ask that you bring this man to justice and return with a verdict of guilty," Arthur said. He breathed deeply before walking back to his seat and saw down. Ravel looked at her lawyer and smiled at him. Arthur turned to her and returned one of his own.

"Defense you may proceed with your closing argument," Charles said. Ariana nodded and walked up and stood in front of the jury and the audience.

"Thank you, your Honor. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, you have heard the testimony of my client, Hiruko Yukikaze. While the defense may like to entertain the notions that he… raped or tried to rape Koneko Tojou and Lady Ravel Phenex, I can assure you that it is quite the opposite," Ariana said. The jury members all looked at each other before giving the woman a sympathetic glance. Ariana Abaddon was one of the greatest defense attorneys in Devil Society. And for her to defend someone so… so horrible and the fact that she had no chance of winning was a very sad sight to see.

"Before you make your decision, I would like to remind you of the evidence that we have presented today. The client himself testified against the evidence presented against him and provided a convincing testimony for his innocence. With that, I can only ask you to find the defendant… innocent," she forced out of her mouth. Ariana bowed to them before she walked to her chair.

Charles sighed as he watched one of the brightest lawyers in the Underworld shuffle away. He grabbed a few pages with the Penal Code and began to speak.

"Members of the jury, you have heard all of the testimony concerning this case. It is now up to you to determine the facts. You and you alone, are the judges of the fact. Once you decide what facts the evidence proves, you must then apply the law as I give it to you to the facts as you find them.

"Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following circumstances:

Where a person is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act. Notwithstanding the existence of a conservatorship pursuant to the provisions of the Leviathan-Beelzebub-Short Act, the prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime, that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving consent.

Where it is accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another.

Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused.

Where a person is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the accused. As used in this paragraph, "unconscious of the nature of the act" means incapable of resisting because the victim meets any one of the following conditions:

A. Was unconscious or asleep.

B. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that the act occurred.

C. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraud in fact.

D. Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the sexual penetration served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.

Where a person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is someone known to the victim other than the accused, and this belief is induced by any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with intent to induce the belief.

Where the act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat. As used in this paragraph, "threatening to retaliate" means a threat to kidnap or falsely imprison, or to inflict extreme pain, serious bodily injury, or death.

Where the act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official. As used in this paragraph, "public official" means a person employed by the Devil Council who has the authority, as part of that position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.

As used in this section, "duress" means a direct or implied threat of force, violence, danger, or retribution sufficient to coerce a reasonable person of ordinary susceptibilities to perform an act which otherwise would not have been performed, or acquiesce in an act to which one otherwise would not have submitted. The total circumstances, including the age of the victim, and his or her relationship to the defendant, are factors to consider in appraising the existence of duress.

As used in this section, "menace" means any threat, declaration, or act which shows an intention to inflict an injury upon another," he read off. Charles looked up at the jury.

"In just a moment, the bailiff will take you to the jury room to consider your verdict. One of the first things you will want to do is to select a foreman that will preside over your deliberations the way that a chairman does at a meeting. It will be the foreman's duty to sign the verdict form when you have agreed on a verdict. Whatever verdict you render must be unanimous. That is each and every person must agree on the same verdict. The Bailiff will now escort you to the deliberation room," he said. His blue eyes turned to the Bailiff and nodded.

"All rise," the bailiff said. He walked over to Charles and retrieved the verdict form and proceeded to escort the Jury out of the room.

"We shall now disband for a recess. Please do not speak of any details of this case outside of the courtroom but I think that statement is useless as the entire underworld most likely knows of this case," Charles said. "We shall meet back here in a few hours at 5:00 PM. Dismissed."

* * *

Everyone began to mumble and stood up, filing out of the room. The ORC and Eden Squad all stood and walked over to Ravel.

"Ravel, are you…?" Rias began.

"Yeah, I just want to get this over with and see that bastard get what he deserves," Ravel said.

They all nodded. Ravel turned to Issei and Kuroka.

"Thank you for saving me before he could go any further," she said.

"No problem," Issei said. "Just because we broke up doesn't mean that I would let something like that happen to you," he said. Ravel smiled and wrapped Issei in a tight hug. Issei smiled and returned it.

"Sekiryuutei-sama," Issei looked up and saw Roland and Diane Phenex standing before him. To his utter surprise, the two got down on the floor and prostrated themselves in front of him.

"Thank you for saving our daughter from such a horrible fate! We, the House of Phenex, are forever grateful to you," they both said simultaneously. Issei sputtered and began to beg for them to stand up much to the amusement of the others present.

"Ever the humble one despite being a pervert," Grayfia remarked, chuckling. Issei turned to her and pouted.

"Aneue!" he complained.

Footsteps alerted the group and they saw Eren walking towards them. They all stood on guard in front of Ravel in case he tried anything. Eren's blue eyes flickered and dimmed a little bit when he saw her. She was wary and stiff, distrusting of all-male presences that she wasn't comfortable with or well-acquainted with already. Sighing, Eren got down on his hands and knees and bowed his head to the floor.

"Phenex-san. I'm sorry for my involvement in this. I should have never provided Hiruko the information. If I ha-"

"It's okay. You didn't know," Ravel said, shakily walking towards him. "I forgive you."

Eren looked up and her in shock. "But I-!"

"It wasn't your fault. He just used you," Ravel clarified. Eren nodded mutely before standing and facing them. Walking over to Issei, Eren bowed before him. Shock was the least that could be used to describe Issei's face at the moment. His hazel eyes never left Eren's bowing form as his mind registered to comprehend what was happening before him.

"I know that we got off on the wrong foot what with me getting in between and ruining your relationship with Asia and all… and for that I know that you won't forgive me, however, I want you to know that if I had known that he would do that, I never would have told him so for being unwittingly part of what happened to Phenex-san, I ask that you allow for me to make it up to you, to all of you in any way I can. My mother is still connected to the Malfoy Mage Family of the UK so if there's anything I ca-"

"Yatogami-san, you don't need to do that. Truth to be told, being in a relationship with Asia wasn't completely your fault," as Issei said those words, the other girls of the ORC looked away. "But, I think we need to move past this and start over," he said. Issei held his hand out to the other male opposite to him. Eren's eyes widened as he stood. He stared at Issei's outstretched hand for a few seconds before grasping it with his own.

"Hey, I'm Issei Hyoudou, Red Dragon Emperor and one embarrassing title that I shall not say and no one else in this room shall ever utter," he said, sending the others a look. Mitsuki and Vali looked away whistling while everyone else sweatdropped. A blue flash from his left hand made itself known.

**|Don't forget that you represent me as Dragon King, whelp|** Tiamat reminded.

"Oh, yeah and Dragon King," Issei said.

"Any others I should know about?" Eren said, grinning.

"Opp-!" Issei's hand flew to cover Xenovia's mouth as she was about to say the other word that Issei now grew annoyed with.

"Let's just leave it at that," Issei said.

Eren nodded. "Eren Yatogami. Wizard/Omnyouji hybrid mage. Son of Anna Malfoy of the Malfoy Family and Arima Yatogami of the Yatogami Clan. I am the user of Fallen Star, Incinerate Anthem ripoff. I hope that our new relationship will be better than our old one," Eren said. Issei smiled and nodded.

Asia looked between her ex and her current boyfriend and smiled. The small group began to talk amongst themselves with the other members asking Ravel if she was okay. Ravel said that she was and was just glad that Hiruko was going to be gone forever after this. She seemed to be confident that he was going to get his ass thrown in Cocytus.

* * *

It was only a few minutes later that the jury came back. Everyone knew that the deliberation was only a formality. There was no doubt that the man was guilty.

Charles returned to his stand and the bailiff repeated the process at the beginning of the trial. He turned his gaze to the jury and began to speak.

"Has you all reached a verdict?" Charles asked. Hiruko looked smug while Ravel looked on at the jury.

"We have, your Honor," the foreman said.

"And what is the verdict?" Charles asked, folding his hands together and looking at them.

"We the Jury find the defendant, Hiruko Yukikaze, guilty without reasonable doubt on all charges of assault and the attempted rape of Shirone 'Koneko' Tojou and Ravel Phenex," the foreman said.

Ravel smiled tearily and was hugged by her family. Ariana stood from her chair and walked over to Arthur and shook his hand. He patted her on the shoulder and walked over to the jury members.

Hiruko stood there fuming. How!? He was innocent. His mind deteriorated further into his delusions and looked at Ravel with an insane glint in his eyes.

"You think that you've won?" he growled, catching everyone's attention. His Sacred Gear, **⌜Embrace of the Eternal Ice Princess⌟**, manifesting on his wrists. Its silver bands glinted while the sapphire crystals began to glow. "We still haven't finished little Ravel," Hiruko said and charged towards her, his fists now encased in ice.

Eren and Issei moved to intercept but they moved too late. As Hiruko neared a frozen Ravel, a flaming figure slammed into him, knocking him off course and sending him crashing into the wall. Hiruko groaned and looked up. A shoe planted itself on his chest. His eyes widened when he saw Riser's flaming pits for eyes looking down at him, sending waves of terror coursing through his entire body.

"Not this time," Riser said as his entire form began to be wreathed in flames.

"Wai-!" he didn't even finish as Riser began pounding his face. His flaming fists made contact with Hiruko's face. Every contact making a sickening thud with his skin. The smell of burnt flesh began to permeate the air of the courtroom. Everyone stood off to the side, watching Riser beat his sister's would-be rapist into what was supposed to be a coma but surprisingly, he stayed conscious. Every punch was accompanied by his pained screams.

Eventually, Riser let up and looked down in disgust at Hiruko's face. No one could tell it was human anymore. It looked more like a bleeding, moaning mass of fourth-degree burns. Hiruko groaned and reached up for Riser, for anyone to help him. Riser grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Hiruko used the last of his defiance to form and ice dagger and decided to stab whoever grabbed his arm.

Riser saw the dagger and increased the intensity of his flaming aura and the ice dagger was vaporized before it could make contact with his skin.

"I guess you've just given me the green light fucker," Riser said as he slowly began to burn Hiruko as he gripped the boy's arm. Hiruko began to scream or at least, try to scream from the burnt orifice where his mouth used to be. The flames traveled, eating away at Hiruko's flesh and Riser forced it to seep into the wounds, burning Hiruko from the inside out. Eventually, Hiruko grew silent as all that remained was a skeleton as the flesh burned into ashes and eventually, even the bones were reduced to ash as well.

"Ahem," Riser whirled around and saw the judge staring at him. "Mr. Phenex, you have just committed murder within a court of law in front of me and the jury no less. However, in light of recent events concerning his attempted murder of you and his yet again attempted rape of Ravel Phenex, I believe I can make an exception and turn a blind eye to what happened here."

Riser sighed as he dusted his hands off.

"Court is now adjourned," Charles said, walking off the stand and out the door from which he entered, his robes billowing as he walked.

Everyone began to clamor and walk out of the courtroom with Ravel insisting that she was fine and Riser proposed that a party be held at the Phenex House to celebrate Ravel's victory. His mother glared at him, causing him to shrink.

* * *

Eventually, they all parted ways with the ORC and Eren, Eden Squad, and Vali Team returned to Hyoudou Manor where they held a small celebration for Ravel's winning of the case. Issei picked up Lily from Azrael along the way and Nancy was currently in Scotland visiting her family. He watched from the side as everyone chattered about happily. Magala, the ever-loyal dragon, stood next to him, munching on some brisket.

"Ne, Issei-nii-chan, you're not gonna…?" she asked.

"No, I'm good. Besides, it's nice just being the two of us," he said.

"Hmmm," Magala purred, nodding as she felt her master's hand rubbed the top of her hair.

* * *

**Niseko, 7:45 PM**

* * *

Astaroth sat in a bar, wearing a white jacket and looking at all the customers inside. Every male in the room that was straight was leering at her. One of them walked up to her, his gait wobbly no doubt as a result of the alcohol. He sat down next to her and she ignored him.

"Hey baby, wanna go down to the hotel later?" he slurred. Astaroth's nose scrunched up. His breath reeked of alcohol.

"No," she refused, staring into her drink.

"Aw, come on. I'll make it worth your time," he said, attempting to wrap his arm around her. Astaroth's eyes widened and she grabbed his arm and flipped him over, slamming him onto the counter. Her eyes burned with righteous fury as she began to twist, causing the man to cry out in agony. She sensed his buddies run in their direction to help him and she snapped his arm and quickly turned and slammed her fist into one of his friend's faces, breaking his jaw and knocking him unconscious. One of them grabbed a bottle and tried to hit her over the head with it only for Astaroth to dodge and slam her knee into his ribs, caving them in and knocking him out. The last one trembled and began to back away but not before Astaroth tossed a shot glass at his face, sending him into the bliss that was unconsciousness.

"Enough," she turned and saw her target or targets.

"Lord Bae-"

"Come with us," Metatron said, her eyes shifting to amber. Astaroth nodded and followed them outside. Behind the bar, Metatron erected a barrier and looked at the Knight of Hell with wariness in her eyes. She began to call upon _it_ just in case.

"Lord Bael, I have come with a message from Princess Liith," Astaroth said.

"What does she want?" Bael questioned in an impatient tone.

"She has given you two ultimatums since her previous interactions with you and Lady Metatron a few years ago," the Knight said.

"Oh, and what are they?" Metatron asked.

"Join us and this town will be spared or deny her offer and become Hell's most wanted," Astaroth told them. Metatron narrowed her eyes at her words. As she was about to speak, Bael moved in.

"You can tell Lilith to shove her offer up her ass," Bael said.

"Well, that's a shame."

Metatron and Bael's eyes widened when they heard the voice. They turned and saw Samael standing there, grinning like a madman.

"Hey, twinnie!" Samael waved.

"You!" Bael said. His green eyes turned to Metatron. "Take the kids and run," Bael said.

"Bu-!"

"You're not at full power and even with the Genesis Tablet, the kids will get caught in the crossfire," Bael said. Metatron looked at him in worry before conceding after seeing the look in his eyes.

Metatron turned and ran into the bar but the door was barred by Astaroth. A triskele appeared in her right eye and Metatron flicked her wrist, sending Astaroth flying into the barrier. She waved her hand and a portal appeared around the angel, causing her to vanish into it. Bael sighed as he sensed the energy signatures of his wife and children disappear.

Samael approached him, his wings spread wide.

"This isn't going to be like last time," Samael said.

"I know it's not," Bael told him. "**Harab Serapel!**"

Bael was enshrouded in Darkness which rapidly expanded outwards, forcing Astaroth and Samael to take off into the air. The Darkness imploded and what was left was Bael, who stood in the center with an open vest-like coat which flared outwards at the sides. His legs were covered in dark armor which ended in boots with talons.

Samael glared before charing at the Prince of Hell, who kindly returned the gesture.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**18Andrew: How many people will die in this story? I really don't want anyone I like to die but I feel like they will**

**Yes. That is my answer.**

**AnimeFan0216: The tablet perhaps is the ten commandments from the time of Moses.**

**Hmm, interesting but no.**

**leader. dbz: I can understand the Gremory-bashing and infidelity of their new boyfriends, but did you really had to introduce Rape in this story**

**Umm, no, there is no bashing this season. That scene almost happened a few chapters back to Nancy but Ravel and Koneko stopped it. It just kinda cascaded into this as I said earlier.**

**Rhongomyniad: Since Metatron is the Angel of Piety so probably the original Ten Commandments Tablet, or perhaps it might be something like the Leviathan Tablet from SPN.**

**The white wings on the other hands, the DxD wiki does say that Angels can have sex and have half-Angel half-Human children (Miracle Children) if they and their partner undergo some kind of hours-long purification ritual and doing it under some sort of barrier... so Metatron and Bael having a kid not really that far-fetch.**  
**Still, nice chapter. Can't wait to see the Phenex Family unleash Hell on that little piece of shit Hiruko.**

**I hoped you like what Riser did then. Also, congratulations! You have won! It is like the Leviathan Tablet from SPN.**

**Ouroborosdragon: Never. Write. A Rape. Scene. Again. I was already uncomfortable when you implied a character was raped or when a character forces themselves on another but having to read one made me feel disgusted. Even if it was a near rape scene( in fact it's one of the most laziest and cliche ways to get an emotion out of the audience, I'm looking at you SAO). I get it, the ORC group getting bashed to all hell and back but even they don't deserve this. Seriously the ORC bashing got repetitive real quick after the drama was settled, when they broke up with their bastard boyfriends. I will admit, it was soooooo satisfying and cathartic when Kuroka ripped off the fucker's testicles and shoved it down the waste of space's throat.**

**Now on to more pleasant things to say, drunk issei was hilarious, the scene where his friends was comforting him was heartwarming. Even in hopeless circumstances they still have his back, truer friends and lovers anyone can get and it was really good seeing issei building somewhat of a bridge between Akeno and himself. That tells us that issei is maturing and is moving forward with his life.**

**Since I already addressed the first part of your comment in the intro, I'll just be addressing the second part. Issei is building bridges with all of them. I know that last chapter, it looked like I was bashing but I honestly wasn't. I swear. Also... Asia never broke up with hers.**

**SkellZero: Amazing work as always, I do wonder how Issei will break the deal since he was barely able to go toe to toe with Beelzebub and Lilith is stronger then Beelzebub was, And yes I like Issei x Artemis shipping quite a bit since her character got developed enough to stop hating all man and thinking of them on an individual basis instead of the whole gender, which is pretty good and in my opinion both seem to have pretty good chemistry, I wonder if Issei is going to teach her some Hand to Hand combat in case something happens to her Bow.**

**Actually, Artemis already knows hand to hand combat. As for Lilith, well... I'm just going to leave it there. **

* * *

**I know this is the other thing I now have to talk about. Where the hell did I get that law from? Well since Devil Society's government and its laws are never touched on like in other animes except maybe Log Horizon and Phoenix Wright, I pulled that law from an existing law book from the state I live in which is constantly on fire. So Hell, I basically live in Hell. It was Penal Code 261 I believe which dealt with sexual assault and rape. Another thing I might or might not get frack for is Issei making friends with Eren. I know it's weird but I never really wrote Eren into an asshole like the other three. If you read the chapter where the battle royale was, you never hear Eren saying something bad or planning anything horrible. He was just jealous of his girlfriend's ex which is completely normal by the way. I think that's all I have to say. Remember, review as it does get lonely and extremely boring if I don't have all of you telling me what you think. I wanna say that predictions for what you think might happen are welcome in the reviews. I used to get those but then those people stopped reviewing. I think that I only have one reviewer left still reviewing back from when I started all of this so thank you for sticking around. You know who you are. Also, follow/fav if you enjoy! And remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**

**PS: Please check out my other story! Highschool DxD: Shard Chronicles Vol I.**


	40. The Netherworld Night Dragon

**New chapter everyone! I hope you're liking the progress Issei is making in repairing his relationships and building new ones. Anyway, I hope you all like how long this chapter is. This chapter will be... well it will focus on who this all started with. It's only fitting that it ends with her since it started with her because we're at about 60% into the season. Well, this chapter has myths that you don't see in the other DxD fics on this site. As far as I know, I'm the only one that uses this Pantheon sooooo... enjoy learning about another pantheon you've most likely never heard of before when you hear this country's name. Let's get on with this.**

I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 11, 2020, 3:15 PM; Current Time: 1 minute and 37 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei sat on the couch next to Ingvild and Rossweisse as they leaned into him. The two were watching a movie alongside Vali, who Issei kept sending glances to, and Mitsuki, who was blissfully ignorant of her twin brother's reactions to her boyfriend. Kiba and Gasper kept looking at the sight and hid their laughter behind their hands. The others sat around on the floor and on whatever space was available. Some of them weren't here. Irina was in Heaven in a briefing with the other angels that belonged to the Brave Saints of the Archangels and Kuroka was called to Kyoto by Yasaka to being planning the defenses of Japan. Issei's time was currently down to four months and they were preparing for a possible invasion of Japan by Lilith.

"Issei," Rossweisse said without looking up at him.

"Hmmm," Issei said.

"Can you refill the popcorn?" she asked.

"Yeah," Issei freed himself from the two girls' holds and grabbed the popcorn bowl and made his way to the kitchen. Magala flew from her perch and followed Issei, landing on his shoulder. Issei glanced at his familiar and smiled before taking a bag out from the pantry and placing it into the microwave.

"Might as well grab something to drink," he muttered as he opened the refrigerator.

"Want something Magala?" Issei asked as he rummaged through the fridge.

"Yeah, do you have some Fanta?" she asked.

Issei looked around and found a bottle of Pepsi and a bottle of Fanta. He handed the bottle to Magala, who shifted to her human form and began to chug the entire bottle. Issei opened his bottle and began to drink. A beeping sound alerted him that the popcorn was finished. Opening the microwave, Issei grabbed the bowl and made his way back.

"Oh, can you get more?" Issei looked behind him and saw Rias standing there.

"Oh sure," Issei said.

"Thanks," Rias replied. The two stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Issei made his way to the pantry and pulled out another pack.

"Sooooo," Rias said as she leaned against the wall.

"Soooo," Issei said as he turned the microwave on.

"How was your day?" Issei asked.

"It's been fine," Rias replied.

The two went silent once more. A tense air fell between them and Magala looked between the two.

"Issei, I-!"

A beeping noise alerted the two and Rias saw a CC call from her brother. Sighing in an irritated manner, Rias swiped to answer the call.

"Onii-sama, what is it?" Rias asked, her blue eyes twinkling in annoyance.

"_Rias, I need you and Eden Squad to come to the Ars Nova, ASAP_," Sirzechs said in an urgent tone.

"Eh? Onii-sama, is everything alright?" Rias asked, her tone becoming more serious. Issei stiffened up and listened in on the conversation.

"_I'll debrief you alongside Eden Squad. Just get here. Now!"_ Sirzechs said before severing the connection.

"Onii-sama? Onii-sama!" Rias yelled.

"Rias," Issei said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Rias stiffened at the contact. Her blue eyes traveled to meet his own.

"Let's go," he said. She nodded and the two ran out of the kitchen to the living room.

"We need to go," Issei said, catching their attention.

"Eh? Aniki, what's wrong?" Mitsuki asked, sitting up from her position.

"Sirzechs-nii called us down to the Ars Nova. Just us and the ORC," Issei said.

"Just you two," Vali asked.

"Yeah," Issei confirmed. As if on cue, a CC from Azazel appeared by Vali's ear. Annoyed, the half-devil answered.

"What?" he said.

…

"Now? Niseko?"

"What happened in Niseko?" Issei asked.

Vali dispersed the CC and looked at Issei. "Samael and Astaroth were spotted in Niseko's skies engaging a blonde man," Vali told him.

"Bael," Issei said.

"We're being sent there to assist them," Vali said.

"Be careful," Mitsuki said, squeezing his hand.

"I will," Vali replied, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"You guys ready?" Rias asked as she and the others stood off to the side.

"Yeah. Mii-chan," Issei said. Mitsuki nodded and walked over to Rias and Issei. Rias formed a massive red magic circle and they disappeared in a red flash to the underworld.

Vali turned to Bikou, Arthur, and Le Fay. "Let's go," he said as they all formed their respective magic circles and disappeared.

* * *

**Ars Nova**

* * *

Eden Squad and the ORC arrived outside of the Ars Nova and saw Sona and Sairaorg waiting for them there.

"Issei, Rias, you too?" Sairaorg asked.

Issei nodded and Rias walked up to Sona.

"What's going on?" she asked her the bespectacled devil.

"I don't know. Onee-sama told me to come down here with my peerage. Sairaorg was called down here by Sirzechs too," Sona said.

Rias turned and saw Kiba and Tsubaki talking to each other and Issei and Mitsuki stood behind her with Rossweisse, Ingvild, and Gasper.

"Where's Irina?" Sona asked.

"Irina's in Heaven being briefed by the Archangels about the next four months," Issei said.

Sona nodded and the door opened to reveal Serafall and Sirzechs walking out with another woman. She had long black hair with her fringe covering her forehead. Her eyes were brown with hints of yellow that sent familiar waves of fear down their spines. She wore a beige vest with a black shirt underneath and black and white track pants. Her figure was as curvaceous as Serafall's.

The woman stepped forward and got close to Issei's face, causing him to take a step back.

"So you're Artemis's little object of affection," she said.

"Um, wha-?" Issei responded.

The woman pulled away and curtsied in front of them.

"I am Mayari, the Goddess of the Moon in the Philippine Pantheon," she said, introducing herself.

The dots connected in Kiba's mind as his eyes widened.

"You're the newly appointed leader of the coalition army of the Celestial Council," Kiba exclaimed.

Mayari smiled at him.

"Yes, I am," Mayari said to him. "Anything to keep that asshole Rudianos from gaining any more power. It seems that he and Freyja are vying to wrest control from the Head Council and into their own hands so I volunteered myself. Made my case and got appointed."

"So, Mayari-sama, Sirzechs-sama, why were we called down here?" Gasper asked.

"We called you all down here because Mayari here needs your help," Serafall said.

"What's going on?" Issei asked.

"Demons have been spotted in the Philippines," Mayari said. She pulled a small black orb from her pocket and threw it up into the air. A projection of the Philippines appeared and Mayari zoomed in on a particular set of islands.

"They're concentrated here in the Visayas," Mayari said, gesturing to a set of islands.

"Do you know who's there?" Issei asked.

"I believe the one Lady Nyx and Lord Erebus referred to as Abaddon has been spotted there," she said.

"Do you know what they're after?" Mitsuki asked.

"Yes, we have an inkling," Mayari answered. She zoomed in on a particular location. "This is Sohoton National Bridge Park. We believe they're there for one thing. A dragon."

"A dragon?" Akeno asked.

"Not just any dragon, an Evil Dragon," Mayari said, turning to them her face grim. "Bakunawa," Mayari said.

Calamity Booster appeared on Issei's arm.

**[I thought that he was sealed away by Bathala long ago after he challenged him to a duel]** Ddraig said.

"Yes, father did," Mayari said.

"Who's Bakunawa?" Sona asked.

Mayari sighed.

"I suppose that it's normal for others to not know who he is but…," Mayari was cut off by Tiamat.

**|Bakunawa is infamous among dragons. He is the first Evil Dragon to surpass the Dragon Kings and to rival the Heavenly Dragons in strength. Sometimes, we referred to him as the Netherworld Night Dragon in addition to his title, The Great Devourer|** Tiamat explained.

**[Keep in mind, this was before Crom Cruach, Azi Dahaka, and Apophis became powerful enough to pose a threat to me and Albion even at our full power]** Ddraig said.

"Why do they want an Evil Dragon?" Issei asked. They all turned to him. "Nee-chan is more powerful than Beelzebub who is stronger than Ddraig and Albion combined. Why do they need him?"

Mayari went silent and contemplated revealing their suspicion. Deciding to take a leap, she sighed.

"It might have something to do with my mother," Mayari said.

"Your mother?" Sirzechs asked, curious.

"Yes, like Issei, I'm a cambion. A half demon-half something else, in this case, a half-god," Mayari said. Her sclera turned black and her eyes took on a familiar yellow hue. Issei started to hyperventilate upon seeing those eyes while everyone else stiffened as waves of oppressive miasma began to roll off of Mayari. Seeing the effect she had on them, Mayari reigned in her power.

"Who is your mother?" Mitsuki asked.

"Asmodeus. One of the Seven Princes of Hell and the Sin of Lust," Mayari said.

"She's a Prince? Like Bael, Ramiel, Dagon, Mammon, and Beelzebub?" Issei asked.

Mayari nodded.

"That's strange," Sirzechs said. Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"What's so strange about it?" Sairaorg asked.

"Azazel called and said that Metatron appeared in his office and said that Samael and Astaroth were attacking the Prince of Hell Bael. When asked why Metatron said that it was because Bael refused to join Lilith."

"She's trying to gather all the Princes to her side or maybe eliminate them to prevent us from getting any help," Issei said.

"If that's true, then Abaddon and the demons were sent to kill my mother. Please," Mayari said, bowing before them. "Help me."

"Lady Mayari, you don't need to bow. Rias, you and the others, head to the Philippines and help them stop the demons," Sirzechs said, turning to his sister. Rias and the others nodded.

Mayari's face lit up.

"Let's go. I'll give you guys a couple of minutes to prepare," Mayari said. "Meet me back here in half an hour."

They nodded and teleported away to prepare for the mission.

* * *

**Niseko**

* * *

Vali Team arrived in Niseko, only to fall flat on their asses due to the shockwaves. People were being evacuated under the pretenses of an earthquake to which they weren't wrong. It felt like one.

**{Vali, look up}** Albion advised. Vali turned his hazel eyes to the air and saw Astaroth appear in the air, and begin trading blows with a blonde-haired man. However, she looked different from the last time they saw her. Her hair was now jet black and much wilder. Her clothes disappeared, revealing her bare chest which was covered by Miasma markings that ended at her midriff. Her legs narrowed and resembled sharp blades and widened at her hips with two wing-like protrusions containing metallic feather-shaped blades. She also had two curved horns adorning her head.

Astaroth threw a punch at Bael only for the Prince to catch it effortlessly. At speeds beyond what she could perceive, Bael delivered a devastating punch to her torso, sending her crashing into the rice fields several kilometers outside of town.

Behind him, Samael appeared in his true form. In his true form, Samael's face was now covered by a long white blanket with four Enochian Runes inscribed on them. He wore a long white dress with spark like patterns around the hem and black miasma that mimicked embroidery around his sleeves. His massive five pairs of black and white wings flared out as he tried to push Bael down to the ground with his blade.

Bael struggled to push Samael back. He had been fighting these two non-stop for several hours and he was getting tired from the double team.

"Give up!" Samael yelled.

"Let him go!" Vali appeared behind Samael and landed a punch at the back of the Fallen Angel's head, catching him by surprise. Bael took advantage of the momentary distraction, grabbed Samael's head and dive-bombed into the ground, slamming the Fallen Angel-Demon hybrid's skull into the concrete creating a large crater.

Samael groaned in pain before thrusting his hand out and pushing Bael back with a telekinetic pulse.

Samael shakily got to his feet and looked around him.

"Great more nuisances," he muttered as he saw Vali in his Diabolos Dragon Lucifer hovering behind him, holding Silver Empress in his right hand.

**{Dividing Wyvern Faeries!}** Albion announced. Several small white wyverns detached from Vali and made a beeline straight for the Fallen Angel.

Samael raised his hand and snapped his fingers, causing the Faeries to explode into dust.

**{We'll need to get in close and personal with him.}** Albion said.

Vali nodded and dashed towards Samael. His current limit for Diabolos Dragon Lucifer had increased to 12 minutes so he had to keep him distracted long enough for Bael to come in. On the other hand, Vali's blood was rushing in excitement at the prospect of fighting such an immensely powerful being.

Samael narrowed his eyes and swung Sheol, deflecting Vali's Silver Empress.

**{Divide!}**

Samael's eyes widened when he felt some of his power leave him. His miasma and grace went on overdrive, regenerating his power.

Vali jumped back and fell to his knees. His hand gripped his head as the corruptive whispers of something filled his head.

"D̶̡̢̢̲̺̣̜̖̥͓̭̙̱͑͊͂̌͜ͅé̵͕͌̍a̸̞͖̯̞͍̞̐̈́̓ţ̵̨͔̰͓̱̥̇͗̊ḩ̴͉̺̼̓̓̒͒͊͗͒̚̕.̷̳̾͗̊͝ ̷̧̧̦̲̳̲̗͚̝͈̹͙̞̀͌̅̄̔̎̊̂̌̀̅̈̂Ḑ̸͍̹̬͒͗̌̓͛ͅȩ̴̡̧͙̩͍̟̣̳̪̺̪̩̀̆̏̋̂̀̓̂s̸̢̲̩͓̜͙̭͂̈̉̾̑͒̓̊͒̑̑̕ͅţ̷̧̮̗̟͈̜͕̜̟͔̜͒̏̋̏̃͗̇̆͑͆̈́̓̎̓r̵͙̣̟̿̈́̒͝ũ̶̧̢̡̮̬͕̱̬̘̠̜͕̈̎ͅc̶̗̔̐̀͆̀̓̈̌t̷̪̍̀i̶͓̱͍͙̳̫̯̟̽͜ö̷̻̣̪͈̘̝͔̹͖͓͇͎̜̯́̀͋̔̇̊̎̾̕͜͠n̴̡̧̧̨̺̗͈̯̜̟̺͚̱̉͝.̶̭̪͍̻̬̒̍͋̾̒̅͒̑̏̊̀́͝ ̶̻̪̣̙͎̖͖̓͌͋̑̆̍̃͋̊̊̇M̶̝̙̹̜̓̄̊͜͜ù̸̺̞͉̫̓́̃r̴̡͚̺̠̭͓̳̤̓̓d̴̡̨̡̹̠͖̣͓̰͚̬̈́̉͠ͅȩ̶̛̞͓̤͉̼̳̭̭͇̂̈́͆̊̑̅̈̿̎͝ͅr̶̢̗̟̤̱̘̼̘̯̲͛̕.̵̨̨̯͇̘̤͎͕̬̠͇̭̖̈͒͌͐͌͗͛͂ ̶̭̔͒͗̈́̎̆͋R̷̨̥̬̯͔̱̓͌͌͑̿̇̀̈́͋̃̊̏̕ḁ̴̛̥̅̇͐̐̓̆͒̂̅p̷̡̘͔̞̫̣̣̦̘̬̓͒̈́̊̾̓͐̇ͅe̷̖̺̞̤̭͙̬͒͒̔̇͊͒͐̒̎͋͐͜.̷̢͗̓͋͐͝ ̸̜̼͖̮̱̈́͛̈́͗̓̚S̴̨̞̰̘̩̣̤͚̲̐͒͛̍̚ï̸͖̩̟̹̇̀ń̴̢̫̩̎͆͂̂̊̓̆͛͛͊̚͝.̵̳̟̘̠̠͕͇̱͚͈̥̥̇̑̒͜ ̷͍̠̳̟̟͕͙̥̟́̽̂̓̎͝͝Ḣ̸̤̫̟̓̋͛̋̕͘e̸̢̧̥͉̠̺̱̪͖͓͉͊̔̌̌͛̓̕͜͝͠͝͝͠͠r̸̡̨̠̞̫̘͉̙̖̫̬̥̫̈́͐̍͆̔̂e̸̛̳͖͚̝̠̪͓͚͎̟͍͚̝̗̅̃̈́̀̂̏͝ͅs̴̡̻̪̗͔̪̪̈́̏͋͑̂ͅy̴̨͇̳͓̗̼̳̗͇̲͕͚̒̂̉̉̅̋̏͐̽̒̐̐̽̓͠.̶͕̖̾͌͂̃̓̾̋͆̃̿̚͘̕ ̸̹̺͈̱̖͕͉̹͑͒͑͌́̾̉͘͝͝͝͠͝T̴̢̙̹̫̰̳̱̪̼̳̻͉͔̒͠r̴̟̽̀̾̿̓͑̕ẹ̵̡̛̖͖̹̗̪̱̪̲̟̞̱͛͋̂͆̓̀͛͐̓̍̽̈̕å̵̙͖͍̖̜̘̗̲͔̻̂̌͌͑͋͊̋͑̚ć̸̖͍͔͈̈́͋̏̍̽͂̋̕h̸̜͓̏̐́̉͐͋̂̍̑̍̾̚ē̶̱̭̜̞͇̰̲͖̦̣̮̊̈́̀̋̌̀̃͛̈́̊̂̋͠r̴͚͍͗̄͋́̎͘ý̷̡̨̮͍͈͙̭̭̺̙̲̙͠.̴̲͇͂̄̈͗̐͝ ̷̟̳̦̞̩͈̰͉͆̒̾̈́̊̍̔̔͐̄̅̓̇͜D̵̡̧̻̝̺̞͓̝̣̪͓̳̐͝ê̷̺̟̫̭̜͈͇̺̆a̷̢̧͍̬̝͎̜͖̦̣̺̍̍͊͑̀̈́̐͊̚t̴̻̼̤̒̽̏̆̿̐͛̉͋͒͑͑̇̚͝ͅh̴̺̄̅̚.̷̢̠̪̘̬̻̗̲̔̽̈̽̔͒̏́̈́̇͌̽̚̕͠ ̷̢̢͎̣̻̟̬̮̣̩̝̦̝͋̽̚D̵̡̝̝̹̥̙͎̭͎͆̋̾͂́͂͘̚͝ͅë̷͈̺͚̞͚́̉̑̌͗̐ş̷̺͎͕̩̹̦̦́̑͗͘̚͝t̷̡͍͙͕̘͘͝r̸̡̢̬̙͓͖̖̳̞͆̎ų̷͖̱͓͍̯̟͙͍̤̯̅̈̅͆̚c̸̢̥͖̜̬̱̰̜͙̙͕̜̅̾̌̆̓̂̉͊́͘͜͜t̷̨̃̌͂̀͗̓̈́̀̇̋i̶̗͎̔̇̀̌̆͆̅͗̓̚̕̕̚o̸͕̖̙̫͙̪̺͌̀̀̑̾̕͠n̶̦̻̝̲̾̇̏̓̐͒̇͛̉̎̍͠͝.̴̛͚́̊̾͠ ̴̡͔͎͍̲͈̠̲͓̅́̒̈́M̷̡̨̜̠̜̟̞̊̀͌̉̂̄̈́͐͒̚͜ͅǘ̶̢̡̟͙͇͕̙̻͔̮͈͇́͊̓͌̊̂͑̄͐͛̚͠r̴̨̰͈̙̯̳̜͕͇͚̦͎̘̔͐ḑ̶̡̜͕͇̬̯̾̆̕ë̸̯́̈́̅͂͛̍͐̑̓́̅͘͝͝͝r̴̙͖͚̿͆́̚.̷͖͎͈̱͈͑̈̔̿̿͜͜ ̶̨̧̼̥̖̩̹̲͕͙̍̅̅̅́̕R̷̤͉̝͙̥̩͕͉̻̤̟͚̥͙̖̾̊͛́̍́̍̒̈́͗́͒̀̚̕ä̷̝̬̤͇̼͔̖̘́̃̈́͑̈̈́̎͆̂̐̆͒̚p̶̢̛̼͔̫͕̠̩̎́͆̅̔̓̋͊̈́́̾̀̀̕e̴̥͍̲͔̲͑͗͂͂̄̃̈̕͝ͅ.̸̢̜̝̲͈͙͕̮͎͇͔́͗̚ͅ ̴̘̰̭̹͔̊̆̿S̸̨͉͇͎̯̻̠̳̫̫͆̎̑̔́͆͛͂̅i̷̧̧̦̖͍͓͚͊̓͆̿̌̈́̀̊̇͊͂́́̓͝ǹ̷̛͔̞̠̼͈̎̈́̃̅̆̿̃̈́̑̂̄͘͘.̷̨̧̛͚̬̗̩̭̻̍̾̈́̍̑͐̈́ ̶̨̭̮͙͙̩̲͇̳̼̹̲̇H̵̨̨̧̦̱̯̖̱̼͔̰̦̟̗̱͆͛̀̽̄̐̄͗́̎́̐͑̆͠e̴̪̰̬͚̪͓̽͑̍̾̇̒̿̊͂͝r̶̨̛͙͙̻̱̹͈̠̤̪̥̜̃̑͒̈́̏̒̏̽̔́̚ė̶̡͓̠̲͖͈̟̫͖̫̮̻̿̓͊̎̉ͅͅs̸̢̼̘͇̼͔̟̻̬̓̒̾̑̀̓̇͜͝ͅỳ̸̛̼͊̅̃͌̓͂̅͑͋̾͌͘̕.̶̥̼̝̲̤͓̯̊͊͋͌̈́͂͆͊̀͗̂̓͠ ̶̡̘͍̖̟̑͌͂͒̆͛̒T̷̨̡̮̻͚͈̺̤̫̰̼̠̲̝̖͗͐̈́͊ŗ̶̧̛̗͕̮̺̙̜̗̮͎͉̣͎̆̃͑͗̔̃̐͒͗̽e̸̡̢̦͔̖̞͍̰̜̻̝̲̼͉͐ą̷̤̼͚͍͕͈̩̀̑̈́̉̾̅̒͗́̓͂̌̌͜c̵̺̯̤͇͎̀̔͆͑̑̈́̇̒̐̈́͒͝ḧ̵̢̛̹̮̜̻̟̮̤̤̣̝̰̖͍́̋̈̽̽̈́͒̅̏͂́ȩ̷͇͍͚̻̟̤̝̞̗̱̬͌̒͆̈̾̚͝ͅr̷̟̠̗̈̏̓̌̾́y̴̢̨̛̲̳͓͖̠̺͔̻͈̤̅͑́͆̓̎͛̾̊̐̈.̸̨̨̖̝͚͈̼̼͕͇̯̙̤̗͇̎̌̃͂ ̶̧̜̝̠̼̼̣͎̜̭̎̽̐͂͋̓̋̊̅́́͐̕͠͝D̷̺̬̗̯̈́́̄̐̔́e̴̝̜͔̝̖͑͛̓̓̍͘ą̵̟̮̥̺͚͍̘̜̱̺͖̯̣́̈́̄̈͌͑͒͝͝ť̴̙̦̙̮̞͓̊͒̍̽̔͋͗͘͘͠h̶̢̨̢̺̯̤̺̱͈͕̞̟̄̉͊́̂̽͜͜͝.̸̨̨̩͚̟̫̜͎̖̱̤̇͂̽̎͂͆͂̚̚͝͝ͅ ̵̧̭̫͈̣̲̣͖̫̦͖͇̈́͒͛͗͛̐͑̂̔͝ͅD̷̨̘̄̋̔͝ē̷̛̝̊̇͂̅̎̏s̶͖̥̱͓͕̱̏̓̔͋̈́͠͝͝t̶̥̗̮͖͐̓͐͊́̂̌̓̽͘̚͝͠ͅr̴̛̜̂̅̊̀͛̀̾͊̆̇̔̚u̷̢̹̤̪͍̖̩̜̟̓̆̃̒͠ç̴͓̰̯͚͔̓͊̓̓̿̚͝t̶͕̀͆̒͑̈̍͐̆̔̎̉͜i̴͓̹͗͗̏͐̔̾̓͂̈́̀̃͂̂̃ŏ̸͓͇͚̻̈́̓̅̈̂̃̈́͗̑͊́̕͝ǹ̵͔̜̝͍̱̐̎̔̍̓̀̓̄̀̎̓̍͝.̸̧̠̫̳̹̗͔͍̙̜̗̜͖͒̆̏͛̑̄͗͗͆͘͝ ̸̤̯͍͓̬͕̠̰̫͖̹͈̄̈́M̵̠̞̘̗͈̙͍̭̺̼̻̥̙̐̌͋̿̊̾̈̉͗͘͝͠u̵̹̭̖̯̖̲̮̬̜̯̽͐̄͂̎̌͛̐̑̇̔͂̂̕ͅr̶̨̢̮̜͇͔̦͍̙̟̄̑͆̄̀͑̑̊̓̉̀̄̉͘d̵͉̰̬̞̼͓̙͍͓̥̟̞̂̓ȩ̴̢̰͙̜̰̺́̀̚ŗ̴̮̄̈̈́̅̄͌͋̀͝͠.̴͓̦̝̮̳̱̠̖̱̻͙͉̞͖̘́̈́͗̏̋̾̄ ̶̧̱̘̣̓R̴̛̹͐͌à̶̤͖͒͛̑͋̐͛̓̆̓̋̊̄p̴̢͎̗̤͍̝͚̹̀̌̈̏̓̇͊̽̀͆e̵̪̭̻̤͓̻̅̓̐͌͒̇̽̄͑̈͋͐̏̋.̵̢̡̨̼̱͈͚̞̫̱̲͎̹͔̎̽ ̷̹͈̞̤̪͐̔̎͋͋́͑́͘ͅŞ̷̛͍̣͚̠̭̦͕̟̙̠̘̥̓͂͊̔̈́̌̉̚͘͠͝ͅi̵̦͙̱̦̥̺̰͌̽̐̃n̵̡̛̻͎̣̝̤͌̀̀͒̔͒̂͐͊͐͊̒̚͝.̸̦̜̫͉̀̆̈́̋͂̈́̚̚ ̴̛̪͈̞͈̲̜̭̋̑͋̌̇́̉̔͘H̵͗̌̎͛̀̍̋̃͊͌̚ͅe̸̪̜̖̥̒̐̂͂r̷̛̛̰̼̟̩̳̻̆́̊̿̾͛̿̌̓ͅḙ̶͗̋͌̈́̑̋͋͆͌͒̾̋͠͝ś̴̛̛̲̰̺̤̈́ỳ̵̳̈́̍̂̃̂̔̔͑̆̈́̾͜.̴̬̊̃̇͊̽̃̿̆̕͘ ̶̢̪̤̠͎̼̈͆̋͐̈́́̉̌̋̆̄͘͝Ť̸̡̫̭̯̲̠̼̃͊͂̈͌̌̓͛̎̚͜͠r̵̛̝̜̣̯͎̮͖̟̀̽̈́̓͑̇̓̅͐̃̓ͅe̶͈̞̤̟͕͂͊a̷̛̜̩̭͂̏̾͆̍̃̉̀̕͝c̶̮̩͎̹͑̿̌͒̈́̈̆̃͠͝h̸͍̹͕̲̦̬̹̓̓̅͂̄̃͐̀̑̑͘͜͝ͅĕ̸͍̥̲͗̎͑̌͒̅̓̌̍͘͝ͅṙ̷̨̟͚͓͈̞̝̟̫̥̑̎̚̚͠ͅy̸̺͎̖͙͔͉͓̜̭̏̔͋͆̽͜.̴̨̯̠̤͍͔̔̐̾̌͂̌̿̇͌̍̑̌̈́͘̕ ̵͍̘͔̬̈́̐̀́͑͛͛́̇̿͑͠D̵̡̡̢̤͍̯̬̪̤̯̙͇̝̱̄̊̐̈͗͛͑͆̿͆̈̓ē̶̛̱̺̜͙̱̭̩͕͐̆͆̇̉̆à̸̼̭̖͇̳̄͆̔́̓͌̈́͝ͅͅt̷̨̬̘͕͇̿̇́̓͊͐̈́̿̓̚h̸̡̳͎͈̠̬̯̩̪̲͈̹̰̿͗͐́͂͐̽̆̓̎̅͐́̃͝.̷̘͔̣̪͈͕͈̝̩̙̯͆̿̈͜ ̷͈̔͌͐̂̌̋̍̀͝D̴̤͚͎̼̦̦̫̩͕͖͕̓͐͋̿̑͌͗̎͑̄͝ē̷̼͓̥̤̗͔̲͜ş̷̛̫̻͇͎̰͉̘͈͈̞̫̔̎̐̓͂ẗ̵̰̹̥̣̤̙͇́͑͛͗͛͂̒̑͗͋̚ŗ̶̨̛̬͎̰̓̑̐̾̃̇̅͆̈̈͘͘͝͝ư̶̡̻̭̠̭̟̩̖̫͔̩̗̔͐́͐̏́͐̾̕͠͝c̸̨̨̪̬̞̺̤̮̣̣̅̓̄͂̊́̒̐̆̈́͑͘͘t̵̢̨͚͖̤͙̙̺̮̰̦͈͆̐͒̂͗͘̕͜į̶̡̨̛̗̝̙̘̰̻̹̓͆́́̏̔̒̾͌̓̕̕̚o̷̫͝ǹ̴̢̝̳͚̮̳̩̪̠̻̲̘̞͍̃͌̽͗̌̅̽͂͘͜͠.̴̨̧̖̖̤͙͙͉̼̝̭͑ͅ ̴͎͎̱̰̫̰͖̳̈́̈͐̒͜M̷̺̈́̿̏ú̷̧̱̥̯̹̞̼͔̆̓̓̀̒́̏͜͠r̷̡̧̳̟̝̞̟̫̹̀̏̉͂̃͠d̸̡͈͉̥̬̈̃e̸̖͗̈̓̇̍̍̇̆̎̈̆̚ŕ̷̳̼̖̖͕̩̐̊̾̿̔̀̈͐̚͘.̴̛̮̏̑̄̉̃̎̈͒͂̊̇̆̚ ̸̗͙͈͛͋͌̽̓͠R̷̡̡̛̜͈͙̗̼̥͚̱̣̩͔̮͂̃͊͝͝ą̷̡̛̗͈̮̪͖̺̞͙̯̠̫͊̐̽̒̐̒̎̇̇́̆͠p̵̨̟̤̮͕̠̑̑̉͆̔̈́̔͂̏̀̕ȇ̶̥̰̳̠̹͍̑.̵̨̳̮̣̞̙̣͖͖͈̘̙̟̂́͒̅͐͆͋̋͘̕̚̕͝͝ͅͅ ̶̮̣͕̯̦̈͆̓̂̃̃̋̅́̍͘S̶̤̩̪̤̹̮̬̲̪̮͊̏͝͠i̴̡̧̝̮̼͎̮̭̘͑̒͜͜n̶͙͔̠̯͈͍̥̞̹̩̿̈͛͒̕͠ͅ.̵̡̲̬͓͆͛͒͂͛̍̈́͋͂̕ ̵̢͖̝̬̣̹͕̼̺̉͗́͒̽̑̇̈́̕͜Ȟ̴͚̬̺̱̫̘̬̲̘̜̞̞̱̅̊̿̉͊͜͠ͅĕ̷̩̭̰̮͎͎͓̀̄̉̓͋̀́͗͋͠r̸̢̡̲̥͎͖̤̱̲͎̝͇͍̱̥͑̓̉͆ẻ̴͓̍͊̈́̌̊̓͠͠ͅs̷̞̯͍̼̝̖̬̭͈͒̓̚͝ẏ̸̨͓̞͔̫̰̫̬ͅ.̶͙̦̥̹͚̘̺̪̯̤̠́̀̊͜͝͠ ̷͖͗̈͋͂̕͠T̷̡̢͉̯̲̳͙̞͕̘͔͉̳͈͒̌̅̏̕͝r̶̨̢̙͚͓̦̣̣͈̬̺̙̟͙͙͊̍̈́̽͗͝e̷̪̳̲͓̩̠͓̳̎́̈́͜a̴̬͓̺̗͈͚͉̭̋̍̀̌̊́̂̓̌̀͘̚c̸̢̧̨͖̦̫̥̥̻̺͚̘̎̆̇͋̽̐̌͋̉̈́̆͛̅͌́h̶̛̛̛̹̺̖͖̯͊̽̒̃͋̓̉́̆̎̐̄e̶͉̋̔͆͂̅͒̆̿͠ŕ̷̛̮̝̺̒̓̅̏̿͌̓̒̔̓̕͠ÿ̵͎̞͔́̽̉͂̀̑͘̚͠͝.̶̛̛͙̬̝̺̞̣̑͊̅͛͋͗̈̔_"_

"_Get out of my head!" _Vali yelled.

**{VALI!}** Albion yelled.

Samael smiled evilly and walked up to Vali. Pointing Sheol down, Samael prepared to stab through Vali's skull when he felt a searing pain in his leg. Samael whirled around and slammed his other leg into Arthur who flew into a building.

Le Fay raised her Enochian Wand, Carnwennan, and fired several elemental blasts at the Fallen. Samael raised his hand, forming a telekinetic barrier and nullified the attacks.

Bikou appeared in front of Samael and extended the newly reforged Ruyi Jingu Bang and extended it, slamming into Samael's gut and sent the Fallen into the air.

"Vali!" Bikou kneeled before him.

"I- I'm fine," Vali said as the voices disappeared. A jet of black mist was expelled from Albion's wings as Vali felt the corrupted energy leave him.

"I can't Divide his power. It's too corrupted and I almost lost myself," Vali panted.

A large wave of ice erupted from the ground and made its way towards Vali and Bikou. The two readied themselves for impact when a drill made of pure light slammed into the ice. They looked behind them and saw the Seraph Metatron with all twelve of her wings spread. Unlike the normal angel's wings, her wings were made of pure golden light and her eyes were amber orange and glowing. Her right eye had a triskele symbol that was slowly rotating. In her left hand was a large clay tablet whose symbols were glowing eerily, exuding a soft orange glow.

Astaroth landed in front of them and was followed by Samael.

"Twinnie," Samael said.

Metatron glared and Bael landed next to her.

"Let's go Astaroth," Samael said, returning to his base form.

"What? But what abou-!"

"We're outnumbered and besides, if we fail here, there are others," Samael said. "If we do continue, we'll lose even with you in your Qliphoth Mode. Bael is in his and Metatron has the Genesis Tablet not to mention the White Dragon Emperor and his crew. Face it, we've lost."

Astaroth looked down in shame at failing her Princess and dispelled her Qliphoth Mode, returning to her normal form.

"Don't think that this is over because it isn't. Not by a long shot," Astaroth said as she and Samael were covered in a black mist and disappeared.

Metatron sighed and the Tablet stopped glowing. She suddenly fell to her knees and coughed up an obscene volume of blood. Bael immediately rushed over to his wife, dispelling his Qliphoth Mode and knelt next to her.

"What happened?" Bikou asked as Le Fay began to heal the angel.

"It's a side effect of using the Genesis Tablet. Metatron's weakened state makes the side effects more prominent and dangerous," Bael said as he grabbed the Genesis Tablet.

"L- Let's go. The kids are with Azazel-nii-sama," Metatron groaned as she shakily stood.

Bael nodded.

Everyone took one last look at Niseko and teleported away from the town.

* * *

**Sohoton National Bridge Park, Philippines, 4:15 PM**

* * *

DxD walked down the dirt trail, following Mayari. The Philippines was humid and warm as opposed to the now cold weather in Japan. Mosquitoes flew around them in the area as well as birds and other small animals chattered in the trees and populated the skies. The sound of a river rushing past them calmed them down and made them forget that the entire park was the resting place of an Evil Dragon. It was strange though. For a national park, there were very few tourists in the area. A park ranger passed by them now and then but as far as tourists went, there were practically none. Just a few Koreans and some people from Europe or America were seen.

"Ne, Mayari-sama," Rias piped up.

"Yes," she answered as she kept walking.

"Where is everyone? Isn't this a tourist trap?" Rias asked.

"We asked all the rangers and park staff to prevent any entry to the park to prevent fewer casualties but as you just saw. There are… dare some people who ignore these things," Mayari said.

Rias nodded in acceptance and returned her focus to scanning the area. Everyone else looked around for any suspicious signs. Issei narrowed his eyes when he felt a trace of it.

"Aniki," Mitsuki said as she felt it as well.

"Yeah, they were here," Issei said.

"They were last spotted around the entrance of Calbiga Cave," Mayari said. "Descriptions of a woman with red hair and several other figures were spotted and were reported as suspicious. Several rangers disappeared only to be found mutilated kilometers from the cave's entrance. Reports say that they were 'sliced and diced'," Mayari said.

"So why do you think Lilith wants to kill Asmodeus? From what we know of the Princes, which is practically next to nothing, she could use them on her side," Rossweisse asked.

"I only know from stories that Nanay told me she used to fight for Hell's side. She was one of their leaders and massacred entire galaxies during the Holy War," Mayari said.

"Wait, galaxies?" Sona asked, hoping that she heard that wrong. Mayari nodded, causing Sona's stomach to drop.

"The Princes of Hell are powerful. You were lucky to survive your encounter with Beelzebub," Mayari said.

"So what happened? The last Princes we ran into were retired," Ingvild asked.

"After the war, the Princes were tired, well most of them were tired. They were disillusioned by the War, the number of lives that were lost were in the trillions. All of their friends and loved ones cut down in front of them by the forces of Heaven and the Gods so they just left. Beelzebub was the only one who stayed and took total control of Hell.

"Nanay chose to come here, away from the others. She witnessed Beelzebub send a group of demons who were fresh from the pits of Hell's training academies to combat where they were slaughtered by Baraqiel and his forces. She was there with them and after that, she just lost her light. And she was like that for a while until she met Tatay," Mayari told them. "Tatay lost his brother and sister to the Prince of Hell, Ramiel, and after the war, he settled here and met Nanay. They fell in love, Bonded much like how you are to the two girls in your group and… had us. My older sister, Tala, my older brother Apolaki, me, and my younger sister Hanan."

"So Bathala-sama fought in the Holy War?" Sairaorg asked.

Mayari nodded. "He was one of the commanders alongside Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Shiva, and Ginugaggap."

Mayari suddenly stopped and the others saw the entrance to a massive cave in front of them.

"We're here," she said, looking down into the mouth of the cavern.

"How big is this cave?" Gasper asked as he used his vampiric night vision to look inside.

**Don't ask stupid questions** Balor said inside his head.

"_That's not stupid you dumb cyclops,"_ Gasper retorted. Ever since the game with Kali, Balor had become more vocal. He was more annoying than any Sacred Gear spirit ever could be. Not that he knew of any others other than Tiamat and the Heavenly Dragons.

"It's 2,968 hectares or 29.68 square kilometers," Mayari said.

"So we're going to explore what is basically the equivalent of an underground city?" Issei asked.

"Basically," she said as she walked in.

"Hey wait up!" Kuisha yelled as they followed her inside.

Issei conjured a flame in his right hand as they walked through the cavern of Caligba Cave. Massive stalactites were hanging from the ceiling and bats flew from them every time Issei passed his flame to get a better view.

"What happened to all the lights?" Xenovia asked as she looked at all the bulbs lining the cavern ceiling.

"We got reports of massive amounts of electromagnetic interference and yesterday, there was an EMP detected here," Mayari said.

They nodded and kept walking. Eventually, they came to a fork in the cave system with three paths and Mayari stood there, looking at all of them and counting. Eventually, she finished and nodded to herself.

"Okay, Eden Squad has to split up. Issei, blondie, the redhead's peerage, you'll go down ahead. Valkyrie and the Sitri girl's peerage go left. Vampire, Bael boy and your group, follow me and we'll head down that path," Mayari ordered.

"Wait, you don't know where Bakunawa is sealed?" Rias asked.

"Tatay and Nanay are the only ones who know where the snake is sealed. No one, not even Ate Tala, knows the exact area in the cave where Bakunawa sleeps. Just the general area," Mayari said.

They all nodded and split into their groups. "Be careful," Rias said to everyone else. They all nodded and went down their separate paths.

* * *

**Sixth Heaven**

* * *

Irina sat on a chair in Heaven next to the rest of Michael's Brave Saints as she watched the Seraph Zadkiel talk on the floor before them. Next to her, Dulio had fallen asleep while Michael's Queen glared at him. Claire was Michael's Queen and a human child that Michael himself had raised. She was commonly referred to as Heaven's Princess and as opposed to Ambriel, the Princess of the Grigori, and Lilith, the Princess of Demons. Claire was elegant in Irina's opinion. She had sky blue eyes that sparkled under the light of the Sixth Heaven, luscious golden blonde hair that shined as brightly as the sun itself. She wore a red high school uniform which consisted of a red blazer with a white button-up shirt underneath and a red plaid skirt. Her figure was curvy and she was initially jealous of her since she could immediately elicit a reaction out of Issei but like Ambriel, she only views Issei as a brother much to her relief.

"Irina, pay attention," Claire hissed after catching Irina's persistent gaze. The Ace blushed in embarrassment and returned her attention to Zadkiel.

"I propose that we pull support from the Celestial Council until they can stand together as a unified force," Zadkiel proposed.

The angels all murmured amongst each other, looking at Zadkiel every now and then. A violet haired angel spoke up.

"What will that achieve Zadkiel? The Celestial Council possesses powerful gods and we cannot go and fight Lilith and her demons ourselves," she said.

"It was just a proposal Sandalphon. We do not need to go through with it," Zadkiel replied.

"Still though, none of us are insane enough to go fight Hell alone. Do you remember what happened 65 million years ago?" Sandalphon reminded.

"I remember all too well what happened but with the things happening now. Rudianos, Freyja and several other gods trying to wrest control for themselves and ruin whatever unity we built with the advent of the Beast of the Sea… I am afraid that we will be forced to split from the Council temporarily until they can stand united just like we stood united with Stigma all those years ago," he explained.

Sandalphon shut her mouth and sat down.

"That is all well and good Zadkiel but let's give them the benefit of the doubt for now," Gabriel said. "They are young and do not possess the wisdom of their Elders. Back then, we did not need to fight. We had Heaven, the Gods had Assiah, and the Demons had Hell. It was due to complications on the sides of both Heaven and Hell that this war started anyway," she said, reminding them all of the triggers.

The Holy War was triggered after a few skirmishes between angels and demons ended in the slaughter of a group of fledglings and younglings. The Seraph Metatron has tried to keep the peace on both sides but her diplomacy failed due to… other powers.

"Please consider my request. I do not wish to have a repeat of the Holy War. I believe we all do not want to experience Total Event Collapses again do we?" Zadkiel said.

"None of us do Zadkiel. Let the Archangels debate this for a little," Anael said. Zadkiel nodded and returned to his seat.

"Right, onto other matters, Lilith's end goal," Azrael said.

"Does anyone actually know her end goal?" Gabriel asked.

"No, there are several prophecies that could point towards her end goal. The way events are playing out are all signs that point to Armageddon," Raphael remarked.

The room erupted into frightful chattering as angels all looked around and at each other fearfully.

"Does she want to release the Beast of the Sea?" one angel asked.

"No, if she did, she would have done it long ago," Michael said, standing from his seat.

"She said that she wanted peace didn't she?" Uriel said.

"That's what she said as well long ago," Michael answered, waving his hand. The image of a massive three-headed dragon appeared before them.

"Lucifer hasn't been seen for decades. How can you be sure that it's her?" Anael asked.

"I saw her. Possessing Samael," Gabriel said.

The room went silent.

"If Lady Lucifer has truly turned against Heaven, then what choice do we have but to fight," Zadkiel said. "The Lord created us with the intention of protecting Creation. It is our duty to carry out that job."

A chorus of agreements sprang up throughout the room as angel after angel sided with Zadkiel's sentiments.

"I believe that will be all for now," Michael sighed. "You're all dismissed," he said. One by one, angels left the room. Zadkiel sent Michael one last glance before he vanished.

"Took you long enough to finish," Michael turned and saw Azazel standing with Bael and an unconscious Metatron. Raphael rushed over to them and instructed Bael to lay her on the floor. Risa landed next to her king and began to heal the Demon Prince.

"What happened?" Raphael demanded, angered to see his younger sister in such a state.

"She used the Genesis Tablet," Bael said as Risa healed his wounds. Michael's eyes grew wide.

"She what!? How the hell does she eve- She used it to cloak your location didn't she?" Michael said. Bael nodded and held his hand up. A clay tablet appeared in his grasp and handed it over to the Archangel.

"I'll see to it that this is safe," Michael said. "Irina, you may head home for now."

* * *

Irina nodded and disappeared in a flurry of feathers.

She arrived outside of the Hyoudou Manor and saw Ichika and Murayama standing outside the gate.

"Are they not home?" Irina asked, confused as to why they were outside.

"I don't think he is." Ichika scanned the windows and felt for any traces of anyone inside. A flash of light alerted the three to the arrival of someone new. Vali walked out of the light flash, limping slightly followed by Arthur, Bikou, and Le Fay.

"They're not back yet?" Vali asked.

"Back? Where'd they go?" Murayama asked.

"They were called on a mission by the Maou," Bikou answered as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.

"To where?" Irina questioned.

"We don't know. You'll have to ask Maou Lucifer," Arthur told her as he waited for Bikou to unlock the gate.

"I'll see you guys later. I'm going to go the Underworld," Irina said as she disappeared.

"She can teleport like the Elder Angels now," Vali muttered. The girl was growing stronger and fast. At this rate, she would reach the lower echelons of Deity Class power.

Irina appeared outside of the Ars Nova and walked inside. The secretary spotted her and Irina asked her if Sirzechs was in. The secretary kindly pointed her in the direction of Sirzechs's office. Ascending the stairs and finding herself outside his office, Irina knocked.

"Come in," Sirzechs' voice could be heard on the other side of the door. Irina opened the door and saw Sirzechs with Serafall and Ajuka as well as… Shinonono-san?

"Shinonono-sensei, you're here. Why are you here?" Irina asked the rabbit themed engineer.

"Angel-chan! It's great. It's finally happened! Ajuka-tan is dating someone!" Serafall exclaimed. Ajuka and Tabane blushed at Serafall's words. Sirzechs smiled while Irina looked between the human and the Maou.

"That's great. I'm happy for you Beelzebub-sama," Irina said politely.

"I assume you're here to find out where Issei is?" Sirzechs deduced, sifting through his papers.

"Um, yes," Irina answered.

"I'll provide you with his location. He and the others are at Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park," Sirzechs said.

"In the?"

"Philippines."

"Oh."

"Do you want me to…?"

"No, I got a lock on a trace of Issei's miasma. Thank you Maou-sama," Irina bowed before she disappeared in a flutter of wings.

* * *

Rias walked ahead from the rest of the group and investigated her surroundings. Behind her, Akeno and Issei chatted, Akeno laughing at one of his jokes while she held the flashlight. Kiba and Koneko talked about school and the merits of flan. Rias smiled a little. It was just like back then when they first started. Back when any notions of the End of Days, the War against Demons, their ruined relationship were practically non-existent. It was just a bunch of wide-eyed kids vs the world.

"Ne, Buchou?" Issei asked.

"Y-yes?" Rias stuttered as Issei called her.

"You're about to walk into a stalagmite," Akeno pointed out. Rias stopped and indeed, there was a stalagmite right in front of her.

"My bad," Rias scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

The group walked in the dark and a feeling of foreboding began to take hold of their minds. As they went deeper and deeper, the feeling spiked and the entire cavern shook under an immense tremor. The ceiling began to cave in and rocks fell as the stalactites crumbled underneath the seismic activity. A massive portion of the ceiling fell towards an unsuspecting Rias.

"Rias! Watch out!" Issei tackled her to the ground and covered her with his body. Unleashing a dome of darkness around them, Issei and Rias braced as the roof collapsed around them. After the ground stopped shaking, Issei retracted his Miasma barrier and stood.

"You alright?" Issei asked.

"Yeah," Rias said, dusting herself off. She picked up her flashlight and slapped it.

"You know that you can see clearly in the dark right?" Issei reminded.

"Yeah but it's just a habit," Rias said as the flashlight flickered to life.

"Akeno? Kiba? Koneko!" Rias called.

"Rias! Are you and Issei alright!?" Akeno's voice was heard from the other side of the rubble.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Rias said.

"Stand back! Koneko and I will break down thi-!" Akeno was interrupted.

"Wait! Stop! You'll bring the rest of the roof down on us!" Rias berated.

"Bu-"

"We'll find another way out! Just go back the way you came and find the others!" Rias called.

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Issei said.

"We'll be back!" Akeno yelled and the two felt their energy signatures move and their presences slowly vanish.

"So, let's go," Issei said as he walked further into the cave.

"Hey wait!" Rias said as she ran to catch up to him.

The two walked in awkward silence as Issei's flashlight beam traveled across the dark tunnel. Rias stuck close to Issei as they descended further.

"Issei," Rias asked as every hair on her neck stood on end.

"Yeah," Issei said as he summoned Ascalon. "Keep your guard u-!" Issei dropped to the ground.

"I- Issei-" Rias fell to the ground. As her vision swam, she saw Issei get grabbed by a man in red armor followed by a woman with pink hair.

"Let's go," the woman said.

"But what abou-" the man was interrupted.

"Leave her."

That was the last thing Rias heard before she passed out.

* * *

Mayari and the others met back at the fork of the tunnel, their hands empty as they found nothing pointing that pointed to the existence of an evil dragon in the area. As Mayari did a headcount, she spotted the three members of the Gremory Peerage running out one of the tunnels. She noticed they were out of breath and noticed that Issei and Rias were missing.

"Where are the Red Dragon Emperor and the Ruin Princess?" Mayari asked.

"There… was… a cave in," Akeno said between pants.

"Cave in? You mean that tremor?" Rossweisse said.

"Yeah, Issei and Rias are looking for another way out," Koneko said.

"They shouldn't have a hard time. This cave has many entrances," Mayari said.

"Are you sure they'll be fine?" Rossweisse asked.

"I'm sure but we should keep watch at the entrances instead. There are twelve entrances to the cave system so we should split up and patrol each entrance. If you see anything suspicious, notify the others," Mayari said as they reached the initial mouth of the cave.

"Is that Irina?" Sairaorg asked. Akeno looked and squinted her eyes and indeed, the angel was there walking towards them.

"Hey," Irina waved with a smile on her face.

"Irina," Rossweisse ran up to her and explained the situation to her. The smile on Irina's face vanished as it was replaced with a concerned expression.

"So where are the entrances, Mayari-sama?" Irina asked the Moon Goddess.

"There are three in the east, all marked, two in the north also marked, five in the south including this one, and two more in the west also marked," Mayari explained. "Did you all get that?"

They nodded and all took off in the direction Mayari pointed out to them.

* * *

"Ugghhhh," Rias sat up and rubbed her head. She groaned as she felt her forehead throbbed. Rias looked around and noticed that Issei was no longer with her. A rush of memories came running to the forefront of her mind as she remembered what happened.

"Issei…," Rias stood to her feet and ran deeper into the cave.

"Issei!" she yelled as she sprinted, avoiding stalactites and rocks. A hush of voices caused her to stop and hide behind a few rocks. She peeked out and saw two people with black eyes talking to each other.

"So they got him?" one asked.

"Yeah," the other said. "They got him chained up in the main foyer of the cave. Lady Gremory said that they're going to use his blood or something I don't know."

"Heh, that's one way to get something done," the demon said.

Rias sat down with wide eyes. Issei. Foyer. Blood. She narrowed her eyes and looked up. The demons had begun walking in her direction, forcing her to duck back behind the rock.

_Okay, I need to get there and those two dumbasses are the only ones who know where it is_, Rias thought. A plan formulated in her mind as a small smile graced her face.

The demons walked by, patrolling the area.

"Hey man, wanna go for some of the local food here after this?" the demon asked.

Silence.

"Dude?" he turned and saw his friend on the ground, dead. His chest had a smoldering hole in it. He felt something around his neck and he froze.

"If you want to live, you'll do what I say," Rias said in a menacing voice. Her eyes were full of anger.

The demon nodded and gulped.

"You will take me to the main chamber got it?" Rias said.

The demon nodded. Rias slammed her knee into its back, forcing it forward.

"Well?" she said as several PoD spheres floated behind her. The demon marched forward into the tunnel followed by Rias.

"So this is the boy?"

"Yes, rather unimpressive at first glance isn't he?"

Issei opened his eyes and saw the familiar blood-red hair of Abaddon herself. In front of her was a massive pool of ocean water that was extremely deep. Rising from it was the biggest dragon Issei had ever seen, putting Midgradsormr to shame. It was serpentine in appearance and resembled a moray eel. Its green eyes stared down at Issei and sniffed him.

"Ddraig and Tiamat. Heh, interesting," it said in a booming voice that caused the cavern to shake.

"Hey you, you're finally awake," Abaddon said, squatting in front of him. Behind her, Issei saw Gremory, Sitri, and one other demon he didn't recognize. She had blue hair for one.

"Abaddon," Issei groaned as he tried to move. He looked down and saw that he was bound by chains made of pure Miasma. The chains also had Enochian runes powering them.

"Yeah, not gonna work. Have you met my new friend here? His name is Bakunawa, the Moon Eater Dragon and the Abyss Dragon Emperor," Abaddon gestured to the giant moray eel.

Issei's eyes widened when she said that. This dragon was the dragon who rivaled and possibly equaled Ddraig and Albion in their primes. Bakunawa's eyes glowed as he looked down on Issei.

"Well Abaddon, is he ready?" the dragon asked as he eyed Issei hungrily.

"All we need is his blood and you'll have enough power to go and do whatever you want. Hell, challenge Bathala again for all I care," Abaddon said as she formed a knife made of darkness.

Issei glared as she drew closer.

Rias and the demon grunt arrived at the entrance of the main chamber. "Thanks," she said as she formed a PoD knife and jammed it into the demon's spine. She clasped her hand around his mouth to cover his screams and lowered him gently. She ducked down behind a rock and her eyes widened as they settled n the sight of a massive eel-like dragon sticking out of the cave pool.

"That has to be Bakunawa," Rias surmised as she looked around. She spotted Issei tied to a rock with a red-haired demon approaching him with a dagger. Behind her were two she recognized as the demons Gremory and Sitri and a third, a blue-haired demon.

"Issei," Rias gasped as Abaddon loomed ever closer. _Okay, Rias think. Your ex is down there tied to a rock while a demon who will probably turn me into a ketchup stain is down there ready to probably gut him. Between them and you is a group of asshats. What to do?_ Rias thought. She looked up and saw several stalagmites hanging from the ceiling.

"Distraction," she muttered as she formed several baseball-sized PoD spheres. She fired them at the roof, shaking the entire cavern.

Abaddon loomed over Issei as she held a vial of his blood when the cavern shook terribly. Looking up, she saw the cavern roof falling on top of her. Her eyes glowed and the rocks were blasted apart. Abaddon was suddenly thrown to the other side of the cavern by a red and black orb, bringing the wall down on top of her. The vial fell to the ground.

Issei's eyes widened as did Gremory, Sitri, and the other demons. Rias appeared in front of Issei and her entire formed glow. They were pushed back by an immense wave of power as Rias entered her **⦍Goddess of Ruin⦎ **form.

Rias threw her hands in front of her and a crimson magic circle appeared.

"**New World Singularity!**" Rias fired a hyperdense sphere of destruction at the three demons, forcing them to dodge as the sphere swallowed everything around it. **New World Singularity** was the upgraded version of her previous technique, **Extinguished Star**, and moved much faster.

"Issei!" Rias knelt next to him and looked at his binds. "Come on Rias think!" she said as she examined the runes.

"Fuck it," she grabbed the chains and focused her Power of Destruction onto her hand. The chain began to glow and react violently before Rias pumped more in, snapping the chain.

Issei got to his feet and rubbed his hands. He looked at Rias gratefully.

"We have to get out of here," Issei said as he summoned the **[Calamity Booster]**. Rias nodded and prepared herself for a fight. Gremory, Sitri, and the blue-haired demon surrounded the two.

"Phenex, Sitri, get the vial. I'll take these two on," Gremory said as she hovered over them. The two nodded and went to retrieve the vial.

"We can't let them get the vial, Issei. They're going to use it to make Bakunawa stronger," Rias said. Issei nodded and took off towards Gremory, entering his Balance Breaker.

**[Boost!]**

**[Boost!]**

**[Boost!]**

**[Boost!]**

**[Boost!]**

**[Boost!]**

Issei cocked his fist back and threw it towards Gremory's face. She dodged and formed a fist from her miasma shroud and punched Issei's gut, causing him to stumble back. Rias appeared behind her and fired a PoD beam, hitting Gremory in the back.

"You!" the demoness turned and fired a beam made of concentrated Darkness at Rias. She raised a barrier to defend herself but Gremory's attack was slowly breaking the barrier.

Issei appeared above Gremory and delivered a roundhouse kick to her neck. A sick crunch was heard as Gremory was sent careening into the cavern wall.

Issei landed next to Rias and looked at her.

"Go get the vial. I got this," Issei said.

"You sure?" she asked. Issei held out his hand and summoned Ascalon in its sealed form.

"Yeah," he said, grinning at her. Rias nodded and took off towards Phenex and Sitri. Issei raised Ascalon to slice a darkness tendril that traveled towards him.

Gremory floated out of the rubble. Sick pops and crunches were heard as her neck repaired itself.

"Ready for round two?" Issei asked as he entered the **[Catastrophe Lunar Cardinal Mode]**.

Gremory narrowed her eyes before her Miasma flared making her shroud larger.

**[Issei, her power is increasing rapidly. Be ready for anything]** Ddraig warned as the Miasma shroud formed a sphere around her, obscuring her from their view. The cavern floor started to give underneath them and Issei spread his wings and took to the air.

The Miasma sphere swirled violently as black lightning arced off of the sphere. The cave around them further collapsed as light burst through the cavern. Suddenly, the sphere expanded outward with such force that everyone even Bakunawa was pushed back as the sphere exuded an intense amount of outward pressure.

Rias had to form an aura around herself to keep from being thrown back while Phenex and Sitri floated in the air, their own shields erected around them.

"What is that!?" Rias exclaimed as she stared at the black sphere.

"A form that can only be accessed by extremely powerful demons. Any lesser ones will be killed by it. It is the full total unrestricted release of her powers, boosting her capabilities a hundredfold," Phenex said as she floated in mid-air. "The Qliphoth Mode."

The sphere collapsed in on itself, forming a perfectly black orb before violently shattering. Gremory stood there her eyes no longer black but a piercing red. She wore a black dress that parted down the middle and a violet skirt. Violet crystalline spikes decorated her head, giving her a queenly appearance.

"**〖****Qliphoth Mode: Gremory Ghogliel****〗**," Gremory announced.

**|Whelp! Look out!|** Tiamat warned but it was too late. Gremory appeared in front of Issei and delivered a devastating uppercut, sending him flying into the cavern ceiling.

"ISSEI!" Rias flew over to Gremory with a PoD sphere in her left hand. She held it above her head where it expanded and brought it down on the demon. Gremory raised her hand and blocked it much to Rias's shock. Her PoD sphere shattered, and Rias was thrown back into the ground.

She shakily stood to her feet as she glared hatefully at the demon.

"So this is the extent of the clan that took my name," Gremory said in a disappointed manner.

"Shut up!" Rias said as she formed several PoD spheres. Issei appeared behind Gremory and knocked her to the ground with a punch to the back of her head. A tendril of darkness made its way to Issei only for it to strike air. Landing next to Rias, Issei looked at where the demon stood.

"Rias, follow my lead," Issei said as he glowed magma red before fire engulfed his form. "**Demon Soul: Abaddon!**" Issei transformed into his Demon Form and unsealed Ascalon.

"Hehehe, finally taking things seriously then?" Gremory said as she walked towards them. Rias readied herself while Issei launched himself towards her at surprising speeds. Gremory was forced to duck as Issei swung Darkscalon at her neck. She slammed her foot into his stomach only for him to catch it. Issei grabbed her foot and slammed her into the ground. Throwing her into the air, Issei fired a darkness blast at Gremory.

She thrust her hand out and formed a darkness shield, blocking it. Issei appeared in front of the barrier and shattered it with a punch.

"You little-!" Gremory was launched backward as Issei kicked her in the face, shattering her jaw.

She caught herself in mid-air and her eyes widened at what she saw. Rias was behind her and in her hand was a dark red swirling sphere.

"**Deep Crimson Spiral!**"

The sphere slammed into and swallowed Gremory and traveled, bursting through the cave opening that was created from Gremory's transformation. Rias closed her fist and the sphere violently exploded in the air, splitting the clouds open.

Issei sighed and depowered. He looked at Rias and sent her a smile. Rias grinned as she dismissed her Goddess form and walked over to him. She sat down.

"Mission accomplished?" Issei asked.

Rias was about to respond when she remembered something.

"The vial!" she remembered. Issei looked confused before remembering and the two shot to their feet and immediately started to look. Issei walked to the side of the pit where Bakunawa was and saw that the dragon had disappeared, most likely having fled during the battle. Sitri and Phenex were also gone.

"Issei, I found i- URK!"

"RIAS!" Issei screamed as he watched Abaddon stab Rias through the stomach with a darkness blade. The demoness lifted the red-haired devil princess and threw her aside. Rias impacted the cavern wall and slid down. She bent down and grabbed the vial.

"Rias!" Issei spread his wings and flew over to Rias, who was holding her bleeding torso.

"I -Issei…," she coughed.

"Rias, don't talk," Issei said, placing his hands over her wound and putting pressure.

"I- I'm sorry," Rias said with a sad smile on her face. "I- I made you sad again," she said.

"No, no, stop talking. We'll get you out of this," Issei said.

"Fufufu, Hurgh!," Rias coughed up some blood, staining Issei's shirt red.

"Come on Rias! Hang in there," Issei said as he formed a CC.

"_Hello?"_ Asia answered.

"Asia, we need you to get over here now! Rias is hurt!" Issei said.

"_What!? What happened!?"_ Asia screamed.

"Demons snuck up on us and Rias got hurt. We need you over here!"

"_A- Alright!_" Asia cut the link

"Issei," Rias said softly.

"Huh?" Issei looked down at Rias.

"I know I already said this but I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you, for driving you away. What I did, I can never take back and I know that we can never be what we once were but I- I wish that we could be friends again. Like we were before all this…," Rias said.

"No, no, stop talking. Save your energy until Asia gets here," Issei said. "You said you wanted to be friends again right!? Then live! After this, we can hang out like we used to!" Issei said as he maintained pressure on her wound.

"I- I'll hold you to that," she said, chuckling as her eyes began to close.

"No, no, no! Not again!" Issei yelled as flashbacks of Mitsuki's death flew through his mind. _Think Issei! THINK!_

**[Partner! Didn't you bring Phenex Tears?]** Ddraig said.

"Mitsuki has them," Issei replied as he put pressure on Rias's wound. He placed a hand on her head and saw her breathing get slower.

**|Check!|** Tiamat urged as she watched her host stress.

Issei used one of his hands and dug through his pockets. His eyes widened when he felt it. He pulled out a vial of familiar red liquid. Phenex Tears. The healing tears of the Phenex Devil Clan. He had gotten one personally from Riser after the Hiruko's trial as thanks for saving Ravel.

Wasting no time, Issei opened the vial and dropped it on Rias's wound. Her entire body glowed pink and Issei watched as the wound knit itself back together. Rias's breathing stabilized as color started to return to her skin.

Issei turned and immediately looked for Abaddon, who was now behind a barrier. She smirked before she called she opened the vial of blood and let its contents out into the pool.

"See ya later little dragon," Abaddon said as a red mist surrounded her as she disappeared.

The ground shook underneath Issei and Rias violently. Issei grabbed the unconscious Rias and took to the air.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SO THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! THE POWER OF A DEMON!"

Bakunawa burst through the pit and flew into the skies. Violet lines decorated his new form.

"No…," Issei said as he looked at the dragon as it let loose an ear-shattering roar. Lightning rained down from the skies as winds began to buffet Issei and Rias.

Bakunawa was free once more.

* * *

A woman with pitch-black hair stood there staring at the sky. She wore a black Japanese style robe, similar to that of a kimono. The woman had pointed ears and bangs that framed her face. Her eyes were a toxic gold and had a reptilian quality to them. Her body was what could be considered that of a goddess. Slender and curvaceous and she had rather large breasts. In her golden eyes, the image of a flying Bakunawa danced inside of it. Her eyes shined as she spoke.

"I guess I have no choice then," she said as she stared at the dragon. The woman spread two massive pitch-black wings made of pure Miasma and took off.

* * *

**Blacklight Dossier: File 3000**

**File Name: Bakunawa**

**GPS Ranking: AAA-Rank Deity Class Dragon | SSS-Rank Deity Class Dragon**

**Info: Also referred to as the Netherworld Night Dragon and the Great Devourer. Bakunawa is an Evil Dragon originating from the Philippines. His memory long since forgotten since the Elder God Bathala sealed him away after he attempted to rise and destroy everything. Bakunawa possesses power that rivals or possibly equals that of the Heavenly Dragons, Ddraig and Albion. Legends refer to him as the cause of eclipses and can consume the Moon. This is a misconception as Bakunawa is the old foe of the Philippine Moon Goddess, Mayari, and the Sun God, Apolaki.**

**Notes:**

**Lisa Emrys-D'Arc: He is worshipped as the God of the Deep and the Underworld.**

**Dantalion: Our estimates put Bakunawa at 1200 m in length.**

**File End.**

**Blacklight Dossier: File 4220**

**File Name: Mayari**

**GPS Ranking: CCC-Rank Deity Class Cambion(Sealed) | AA Rank Deity Class Cambion (Unsealed)**

**Info: Mayari, or mostly referred to as Buwan which means Moon, is the Philippine Goddess of ** **Combat, War, Revolution, Hunt, Weaponry, Beauty, Strength, Moon and Night as well as the Goddess of the Divine Right of Rule. She is the second eldest daughter of Bathala and Asmodeus and a cambion of extreme power. Worshipped as a Goddess by the ancient people of the Philippines, she and her brother Apolaki fought in a divine war that lasted 1000 years. Some myths state that she lost her eye and she did, however, it grew back over time.**

**Notes:**

**Dantalion: Mayari is often known as Asmodeus 2 due to her beauty.**

**File End**

* * *

**Review Replies**

**tjbloomer83: Wondering are the girls still all living with issei. That is just weird. I hope it was just for this chapter. Other then that if asia is still dating the other guy she should leave issei alone. Xenovia is the only one you have yet to say if she is still with her boyfriend or not.**

**I'm sorry but this has to happen. Issei has to be able to move on and reconnect with them. Also, I did state at the near beginning of this season that Xenovia broke up with her boyfriend. I'll understand.**

**SkellZero: I hope Bael beats back Astaroth and Samael long enough to teleport to the other retired elder demons or Hyoudou Manor so he can train Issei to use his Miasma better.**

**I'm going, to be honest with you, I intended for Bael to get captured this chapter but then I realized... hey, I just introduced a new demon power. Who will train Issei to attain it later? So that was my reasoning.**

**OechsnerC: Hopefully prince Bael will survive. I could not take it if he died protecting his family. Awesome update.**

**The Princes of Hell will become the new tailed beasts as Lilith will try to eliminate them for reasons I'll reveal in the next update. She failed with Bael though.**

**teleteletele: What was the point of the trial if you were gonna kill him of anyway.**

**I always found that criminal trials were the best way for the people to see the criminal in their most vulnerable and broken state. In this case, I pushed him to his utmost edge and made him snap which led to his death. I also exposed all the arrogance he gained from just by being associated with the ORC/Heavenly Breasts.**

**18Andrew: Great chapter**

**Thanks. **

**AnimeFan0216: Hiruko did not know when to give up and the asshole attempted to bribe his lawyer. The gall! Serves him right, if a demon were to judge him, they will outright kill him on the spot. It also seems that something bad is going to happen with Bael and Metatron I hope they survive and someone backs them up.**

**I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter's location. It's a nice break from Europe and the Underworld right?**

* * *

**This is the end of the chapter. I know some of you may be asking why the Philippines. Well, I like the old Philippine Gods and Monsters. I grew up learning about them despite being raised as a Catholic but my grandma would always tell me about the old gods and monsters. I kinda think the only reason that the old Filipinos didn't end up being wiped off the Earth like the Aztecs and the Incas was that Bathala resembled Yahweh so much. Anyhoozles, another reason as to why other than me liking the pantheon is that I have never seen a DxD fic that even brings up gods beyond the Norse, the Celts, the Greeks, the Mesopotamians (Ishtar is useless. All hail Ereshkigal.), the Shintos, the Hindu Pantheon, and your good old Biblical Pantheon as well as Lovecraft. This is a nice break away from what you usually see on this site so... I hope unique in this matter. If not, I apologize for not knowing that your story used the old Philippine Pantheon. From _before_ the introduction of Christianity. **

**Another thing is that Issei has to learn to move on. He can forgive but I will never make him forget what happened. NEVER. That will always be a mark on their relationship now but they have to reconnect. This will all tie into the last four chapters of the season when Issei's lifespan reaches his last 24 hours. Also, guess which Prince hasn't been introduced yet. Five have been introduced: Bael, Ramiel, Dagon, Mammon, and Beelzebub.**

**One made a cameo appearance. Fifty million imaginary dollars and an omake request as to who she is. It should be fairly easy. Whoever can guess the last Prince's name in the reviews gets an omake request like above. No looking on the wiki. I'll know. Trust me.**

**The new form. Qliphoth Mode. Pretty cool right? I was originally just going to give it to Lilith but I was like Nah... let's give it to other people too. I got 23 nodes on the Tree of Death to work with.**

**Anyway, I should end this chapter here. Follow and fav if you enjoyed it. Leave a review, please. Keeps me motivated. And remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**


	41. Reconciliation

**Welcome to the newest chappie of Til Midnight! Yay! *clap* *clap* Did you guys hear? Rooster Teeth's VP got arrested. Why? I'll let you find out. Anyway, the winner of the last chapter was Rhongomyniad. The second winner will be announced next chappie. They both guessed each question right. I have not introduced Belphegor and it was Asmodeus that appeared at the end of the last chapter. As promised, I have written an Omake at the end of the chapter of your request. But, only one omake and one omake only per chapter. The second winner will have their omake in the next chapter. Without further adieu, let's get on with this.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Samar, Philippines, October 11, 2020, 7:15 PM; Current Time: 1 minute and 35 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

Issei watched with gritted teeth as Bakunawa ascended higher into the sky. Lightning crashing, while rain poured around him. Powerful winds battered the area, causing the trees to shake erratically. The city of Samar was battered by waves and wind as clouds slowly covered the rising moon. From space, a massive storm system could be seen forming above the Philippines and slowly begin to engulf the nearby islands. More lightning arced across the sky as Bakunawa slithered across the air. The Evil Dragon opened his mouth and let loose another roar of fury, unleashing a massive wave of power. Tremors rocked the island archipelago of the Philippines as Bakunawa focused his violet eyes on Issei.

"**Ddraig. Tiamat. Can you see it now? I have surpassed you. I have become a Dragon God!**" Bakunawa said.

"Dragon God? Bitch, please! I've met a Dragon God, two in fact, and they look nothing like your scaly ass!" Issei said.

Bakunawa growled as his eyes narrowed in anger. He opened his mouth and let loose a torrent of black and violet flame. A black and blue arrow collided with the flames creating a massive explosion, forcing Issei to throw up a barrier with his Miasma to defend himself and Rias. As the light died down, Issei saw Mayari floating in front of him with two large black wings made of misty energy. She turned and leveled her yellow eyes on Issei.

"Go! Get Rias patched up! I'll hold Bakunawa off!" she said as her bow twisted and split into two curved blades.

"Bu-!"

"Just go!" Mayari ordered. Issei nodded and flew off. Sighing in relief, Mayari turned her gaze back to the Evil Dragon who was charging at her. She twirled her blades before flying straight at him.

Issei flew at breakneck speeds and spotted Asia with Sona and Irina. He landed in front of them and Asia ran over to him, checking over Rias. He gently laid her down on the floor and stepped away to watch Asia do her work. A soft green glow enveloped Rias's body as Asia began to make sure her injuries were all healed.

"Rias-onee-sama will be fine. She's lost a good amount of blood but she should be fine," Asia said as the glow died down. She rubbed some sweat off her forehead and sighed in relief.

"Issei," Irina ran over and hugged him. Issei returned her embrace and after a few minutes, the two pulled apart.

"We need to help Mayari," Issei said as his gaze traveled to the sky. Bakunawa could be seen attacking something and being barraged with black and blue arcs of energy. His roars of anger and fury could be heard above the winds and explosions.

"I'll call everyone here," Sona said as a CC appeared next to her ear. She walked off and began to talk to whoever answered. Irina stood next to Issei with a hand on his shoulder as Issei looked down at Rias's unmoving form.

"She almost died because of me," Issei said softly.

"Issei," Irina said.

"I- I…," Issei trailed off.

Several magic circles appeared, catching their attention. The others rushed out and Akeno rushed over to the unconscious Rias. She knelt next to her and placed a hand on her forehead. She saw the torn portion of Rias's clothes on her abdomen and placed a hand over it, repairing the clothing.

"She's okay," Asia said.

"I'm glad," Akeno replied. She looked at Issei with grateful eyes. "Thank you."

"She's my friend. And even though our relationship was strained, she came to save me from Beelzebub. It's only natural that I save her back," Issei said. "And besides, despite all this, I still care about her," he said as he looked fondly down at Rias. Irina smiled. Issei was moving forward.

A shockwave blew past them, nearly knocking them all over.

"Look," Kiba said as he saw Mayari in a beam battle with Bakunawa.

Mayari struggled to hold back Bakunawa's energy beam while the dragon seemed to have no trouble equalling hers. She poured more of her energy into the beam momentarily gaining the upper hand when Bakunawa added a bit more, completely overpowering her attack.

Mayari's beam shattered and she braced herself for the beam's impact.

**[|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|] [|Divide!|]**

Mayari opened her eyes and saw several white wyverns with black gems on their foreheads intercepting the attack. The energy beam decreased in size until it vanished. Issei appeared in front of her in his **⟦Demon Soul: Abaddon⟧**. He turned and smiled at her.

"I managed to figure out how to sync my powers with this form," Issei said. She noticed that the magma like glow that adorned his wings were glowing white. The color quickly changed to crimson for his left-wing and blue form his right.

Issei raised his right hand and the flames on his hand turned blue.

**|Calamity|** Tiamat announced as several black bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky onto Bakunawa's head. Caught by surprise, the dragon roared and was sent crashing into the water.

Issei threw forward his left palm to use an attack he had developed in preparation for his fight against Lilith.

**[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]**

**[Apollyon Smasher!]** Apollyon Smasher was an homage to Issei's Longinus Smasher from his DxD form only applied to his Demon Form. After 30 more **[Boosts]**, Issei fired a massive red and black beam of energy.

Bakunawa burst from the water only to be hit by the energy. The energy beam carved into the ocean floor as a massive explosion was seen hundreds of miles out and its light could be seen from space. Earthquakes raged throughout the near entirety of the southern Pacific.

Irina and the others flew up next to Issei and stared out at the sea.

"Is it over?" Sairaorg asked as he entered his **Balance Breaker** just in case.

A massive plume of water exploded from the ocean and Bakunawa ascended into the air. His body was covered with slight burns and he let loose an unholy roar. The earth shook and the oceans churned as the waves became stronger, knocking over small sea stacks and threatening to destroy Samar and the rest of the Philippines.

"Damnit! At this rate, he'll destroy the entire country!" Mayari said.

"Not on our watch. You guys ready!" Issei said.

"Are you?" Mitsuki asked as she entered her **(Grand Design)**.

"We've been ready Issei," Kiba said as he activated his Balance Breaker, **⸢Glory Drag Trooper: Dragon Knights of the Holy Priest⸥**.

"Um, yeah," Gasper said as he activated **⸢Forbidden Invade: Balor the Beast⸥**.

Irina chuckled as she entered **[Heavenly Breaker: Code Seraphina]**. Rossweisse shook her head and drew her wand and Ingvild's eyes glowed red as she created a red magic circle, activating **⸢Blood Dragon Ascension⸥**.

"We can't let them outdo us!" Sairaorg grinned as he entered his Balance Breaker, **⸢Regulus Rey Leather Rex⸥**. Everyone else followed suit readying their most powerful attacks.

"I guess I can't let a bunch of kids outdo me," Mayari said as several symbols on her right arm glowed brightly. After a short while, the symbols faded and Mayari's power was much higher than before. Issei estimated it to be nearly as high as Sirzechs in his **Power of Destruction Form** and Ajuka in his full power.

Issei grinned. "Let's do this," he said as he flew straight at Bakunawa.

Bakunawa roared and flew to meet the group in the middle. Sairaorg delivered a punch to the dragon's jaw, snapping his head to the side. Bakunawa's tail came from the side and swatted Sairaorg, sending him crashing into the ground. Kiba and Xenovia appeared above Bakunawa and delivered a cut to his back

Akeno, Rossweisse, Sona, Tsubaki, and Kuisha fired a combined magic spell, sending the dragon flying back.

Mitsuki appeared behind him and kicked Bakunawa, sending him crashing into the ocean below. Bakunawa rose from the sea with his mouth open ready to crunch down on Mitsuki when Ingvild's **⸢Blood Dragon Ascension⸥** began to wrap around him.

"Issei! Irina!" Ingvild yelled as she struggled to hold the massive dragon.

"Right!" they responded simultaneously.

Issei and Irina threw their palms forward and red and blue energy began to condense together into a dense ball of energy.

**[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]****[Boost!]**

Issei and Irina boosted the sphere until the power radiating off it began to send massive winds and shockwaves traveling for miles.

"**REISHA D'ARICH!**" the ball was fired at Bakunawa as Ingvild let go and teleported away. The sphere collided with him before curving upward sharply. It flew higher into the air until it was just a speck before rapidly expanding.

The sky was lit up in a thunderous explosion that ruptured the sky. The blast wave traveled down to the ground, shaking the very earth and disrupting the water.

Everyone floated, staring at the air pensively at the massive sphere that lit the skies as it faded.

Issei narrowed his eyes and tried to sense for Bakunawa's energy only to find it still there.

**[As we thought, your blood is made him more powerful. We estimate that he's nearly as powerful as Cain or Avan]** Ddraig said.

**|You'll need to be careful. The very fact that he has Miasma now has curbed his weaknesses as a Dragon much like it did for yours when it awakened|** Tiamat said.

Issei grit his teeth as he summoned Ascalon and released the seals surrounding it. The blade enlarged into a two-hander. Its guard had black talons pointing downwards. Its pommel had a red jewel. Issei poured his miasma into the blade causing it to glow like magma.

"_Good thing Ascalon got reforged into an Enochian weapon then,_" Issei replied.

Bakunawa burst from the ocean underneath Issei with his jaws open, ready to consume Issei. A blast of light slammed into him and knocked him off course. Sairaorg, Kiba, and Saji appeared around Bakunawa in their Balance Breakers barraging him with attack after attack.

Bakunawa roared in rage as he swiped his claws at Saji. Saji's form flickered as Bakunawa hit nothing but air. Bakunawa turned its angry gaze to Mitsuki who flipped him off before firing a massive sphere of violet energy at Bakunawa.

Behind him, Rossweisse had several magic circles with a mix of Nordic and Enochian Runes. She pointed Misteleinn at Bakunawa.

"**SHEKHINAH!**" Rossweisse chanted. The world responded as the air rippled with power. A massive beam of pure white light exploded from the magic circles and impacted Bakunawa.

A thunderous burst of light ruptured the sky, vaporizing the clouds. The world shook underneath the mighty explosion as the waves traveled outward.

The others covered their eyes and protected their faces with the devils having to erect shields to prevent themselves from being harmed by the light.

Rossweisse's new spell, **Shekhinah**, had some holy properties to it apparently.

The light and winds died down and their eyes widened when they saw Bakunawa still alive and breathing. A massive portion of his tail was missing, the left side of his face was burned off and massive wounds and burns adorned his battered form. A light swirl of smoke poured off his wounds as his body slowly healed.

"**I'll kill you all for that**," Bakunawa said as he unleashed the full force of his aura.

Everyone was rooted to their spots as the immense pressure began to overpower their ability to move. Fissures began to form across the island as well as across the ocean floor, creating massive quakes.

Bakunawa fired a burst of violet flames towards Issei. The boy floated in midair frozen from the pressure as the flames barreled towards him, sending waves of heat towards him.

"ISSEI!" Irina yelled.

Issei braced himself and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed and he felt confused. Why wasn't he on fire right now? He opened his eyes when he heard Bakunawa speak.

"**Y- YOU!**" Bakunawa said.

In front of Issei was an unbelievably beautiful woman. She had long midnight black hair that went down to her waist. The woman turned to Issei, showing him her massive breasts and the rest of her curvaceous form. She wore a black robe reminiscent of that of a kimono. The woman sent him the most heavenly smile. Heavenly, it was ironic. Issei could feel the oppressive power rolling off of her. It made him want to puke, to stab himself repeatedly. That mind-numbing madness that was being pushed to the forefront of his brain.

"Mama!" Mayari yelled as she looked at her.

"Maya," she said, smiling.

"Is that?" Rossweisse asked.

Mayari turned and gave her a confident grin.

"Yeah, that's Asmodeus and now, we're going to win. Mama is here now," Mayari said.

Asmodeus floated in front of Issei and turned to Bakunawa.

"I know you have a lot of questions, Red Dragon, but allow me to take care of these two first. I'll answer any and all questions you have later," Asmodeus said.

Issei blinked. How did she know that he had questions?

"Wait, two?" Issei asked. A red blur appeared next to Bakunawa. Issei narrowed his eyes. Abaddon.

"You've done your part well," Abaddon said. Her gleeful gaze turned to Asmodeus and she bowed respectfully to her. "Lady Asmodeus. It is my utmost honor to bear a message from Princess Lilith to you."

Asmodeus raised a delicate eyebrow at the statement. "What does so Big Sis want so badly that she had to send you and the others here to my home and wreak havoc?" she asked, her toxic yellow eyes glowing in intensity.

"Our Princess wishes to know if she has your support in the upcoming months," Abaddon said.

Asmodeus narrowed her eyes.

"No," she replied.

"No?" Abaddon asked.

"Tell my sister she can fuck off. I'm done with this demon crusade shit. It killed trillions of us, Abaddon. I'm not going to help her fuel a new Holy War," Asmodeus said.

"She won't be pleased," Abaddon said.

"So? Does it look like I give a shit?" Asmodeus said.

"...," Abaddon looked at her in silence, contemplating her next possible move. "I guess I have no choice. Princess Lilith gave me strict orders to kill any Princes who refuse," Abaddon said.

"You know that Lilith's attempts killing us are futile right?" Asmodeus said.

"Somewhat, but you are key pieces that can be used against us and Princess Lilith is not taking any chances," Abaddon said as blood-red aura began to surround her. The tips of her hair turned white. Flames exploded from her form before condensing into a swirling sphere.

Asmodeus looked on with slight interest as the sphere dispersed revealing Abaddon in her new form. Her hair was now stark white and two white horns which curved three times in a zig-zag pattern jutted out from her head. Her eyes were now contained a small ring of light around her irides as her pupils became more reptilian. Her skin became paler than normal. Two massive pairs of wings adorned her back while a long metallic tail could be seen behind her.

"⟦**Qliphoth Mode: Abaddon Usiel⟧**," Abaddon opened her eyes and Issei was pushed back as a massive wave of power was expelled from Abaddon.

"Interesting but it's not enough to make me take you seriously," Asmodeus said, crossing her arms. "Still though, you should know what you're getting yourselves into," she said as she lifted one finger. A violet aura surrounded her as a wave of power, bigger than the one Bakunawa and Abaddon released was expelled from her. Lightning began to arc off her body as the winds began to increase in speed and strength. Mayari was forced to erect a barrier to keep them all from being blown away. The winds and lightning stopped as Asmodeus reigned in her power.

_This… this is greater than anything I've ever felt! Not even Beelzebub had this much power!_ Issei thought as he watched the woman begin to walk as if the air underneath her was solid.

Abaddon and Bakunawa tensed as she slowly began to pick up speed. Abaddon tightened her grip on her sword while Bakunawa began to gather flames into his mouth. Eventually, Asmodeus broke into a sprint and disappeared before their very eyes.

Abaddon's eyes widened when she felt herself get clotheslined. Abaddon crashed into the forest below.

Bakunawa immediately went to slash the Prince of Hell with his claws only for the woman to catch it in between her fingers. Bakunawa tried to pull his talon out from her grip to no avail.

Asmodeus swung her arm and threw the massive dragon out to sea. Abaddon appeared behind her with her sword drawn only for Asmodeus to deflect it. The Princess of Hell slammed her fist into Abaddon's gut and grabbed her throat. Abaddon began to struggle under Asmodeus's grip as she tried to pry her fingers off.

Bakunawa appeared above Asmodeus and swatted her into one of the seas stacks, releasing Abaddon.

"Tch! Sitri! Gremory! Phenex!" Abaddon called. Issei's eyes widened when Gremory appeared next to Abaddon alongside Sitri and Phenex. She was injured.

Asmodeus stood from the rubble. She had no injuries on her person whatsoever. She raised her palm and a small black orb formed in front of her.

Abaddon raised her sword and prepared herself as did the other demons and Bakunawa.

Asmodeus let loose a massive hail of softball-sized blasts of energy. Abaddon reacted instantly and erected a 100 layered Enochian Barrier. That attack. She had seen Asmodeus annihilate an army of a million angels, precursors, and phantasmals with that attack.

"I see you recognize this attack. **OlamHa Tohu**. I admit it's a little pretentious of me to name an attack after one of the ones Mom uses but World of Chaos. I liked the name," Asmodeus said as she closed her fist causing all the orbs to converge and continuously slam into Abaddon's barrier.

Abaddon watched in growing horror as all 100 of her barriers began to shatter like glass one by one. She quickly turned to Gremory.

"Open a Gehenna Gate! NOW!" she roared.

Gremory nodded and focused her Miasma into a swirl as space-time began to warp and shimmer. Suddenly, her Miasma dispersed.

"No, I don't think so," Asmodeus said.

"She's blocking my powers… I can't open a portal!" Gremory said.

"There's an emergency warp gate in my back pocket. Grab it," Abaddon said as she poured more Miasma into her barrier to hold Asmodeus off. Gremory floated over and grabbed a small orb from Abaddon's pocket. She channeled her Miasma into it and threw it into the air. A rift in space-time opened above them.

"Let's go!" Gremory said as Sitri, Phenex, and Bakunawa flew through it. Abaddon nodded and let go, causing the last ten barriers to begin to break down. She flew through the portal just as Asmodeus's Olamha Tohu was about to make contact

"Tch," Asmodeus said as she watched the portal close. "Forgot we still had those thanks to Heph," she said as she powered down.

Asmodeus felt someone coming in her direction and she turned. She saw Mayari run up to her and hug her. Asmodeus smiled and hugged her back.

"Mama," she said.

"My little moon," Asmodeus stroked her hair softly and saw Issei and the others.

"A- Asmodeus-sama," Issei said, bowing before her. The others followed suit not wanting to piss the Demon Princess off.

"Now now, none of that. I actually knew what was happening since Big Brother called me and told me Astaroth and Samael were sent by Lilith to offer him a place or die," Asmodeus said as she let go of her daughter.

"Asmodeus-sama," Sona said.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Would you come with us to the Ars Nova to talk?" Sona asked.

"Are you trying to force me out of retirement?" the demoness asked her. Sona shrank underneath her intense gaze.

"Mama," Mayari said, nudging her mother's ribs.

"Fine, I'll hear them out," Asmodeus said. "I swear you're just like your father."

Mayari turned to them and bowed. "I thank you for helping me defend my home and family. Right now, I have to stay here and help repair Samar since Ate Tala will most likely come down here and lecture me about collateral damage," she said.

"No, no. It's okay Mayari-sama," Mitsuki said.

"Really! We're just glad to help," Issei said.

"You two remind me of Apollo and Artemis," Mayari giggled.

"No, no. Those two are more like Uncle and Mom," Asmodeus said.

"Really? I never knew that Lola and Uncle had that sibling dynamic," Mayari said.

"They do," Asmodeus said with a knowing twinkle in her eye.

"Don't talk about us like we're not here," Issei and Mitsuki said at the same time.

"Anyway, Issei. Take care of Artemis. She's my best friend and I'd hate to have to come after you if she got hurt," Mayari said.

"I will," Issei said. Irina narrowed her eyes and sighed. He was so dense.

"Let's go shall we," Asmodeus said. Sona nodded and formed a magic circle to the Ars Nova.

* * *

**Ars Nova**

* * *

Serafall paced around the office as she waited for them to get back. Behind her, Sirzechs and Grayfia looked at her with a deadpan stare. Lily had fallen asleep in Grayfia's lap while Millicas did on Sirzechs. Ajuka and Tabane were talking about possible new inventions that they could make to help the world out. Tabane proposed an exoskeletal armor that can be used for space exploration. Tabane had presented Ajuka her initial design which he looked over.

"Hmmm, it's kinda bulky," Ajuka said.

"That's as small as I could get it to be without compromising the structural integrity and to keep all the features I added," Tabane said as he looked over his shoulders.

"Hmmm, we could apply several size alteration spells to compact the features allowing it to retain its capabilities while at the same time shrinking the size. I was thinking we could make it more like the Mark Suits from _Iron Man_," Ajuka said.

"Really? You'd help me with this! Aju-tan! You're the best!" Tabane glomped him and planted a kiss on his lips.

Lily, who was woken up by the noise, turned and saw Ajuka and Tabane making out in front of her.

"Aunty?" Lily said.

"Yes," Grayfia looked down at her.

"Do people normally kiss for that long?" Lily asked.

"Kiss?" Grayfia turned and saw Ajuka and Tabane making out and getting friskier.

Grayfia narrowed her eyes, stood, and placed Lily on her chair. She walked over and smacked the two on the back of the head.

"OW!" the two yelled. They turned to Grayfia with pouts on their faces. She crossed her arms and glared.

"Stop that. There are children here," Grayfia said.

The door burst open and Sirzechs turned to see Sona who was out of breath.

"So-tan!" Serafall glomped her sister as Sona's muffled cries for help were heard. Wanting to know what happened, Sirzechs spoke up.

"Serafall, let her talk please," Sirzechs said.

Serafall pouted and let Sona go. The girl dropped to the floor and began to inhale air by the gulps as her face returned to its normal color. After her breathing returned to normal, Sona stood up and dusted herself off.

"Alright, Sona, why is it just you and where is everyone else?" Ajuka asked.

"Come to the hospital," Sona urged.

"What? What happened!?" Sirzechs demanded.

"Rias. She got hurt bad!" Sona said.

Sirzechs wasted no time and teleported to the hospital. Grayfia looked at where her husband used to be in worry before she spoke to Sona.

"Is Issei alright?" Grayfia asked.

"Yeah, he got captured and beat up a little from his battle with the demons and later, Bakunawa, but other than that, he's fine," Sona said.

"Let's go," Ajuka said, putting a hand on Grayfia's shoulder. She nodded and they all teleported out of the office and to the hospital.

* * *

**Lilith**

* * *

Issei sat next to at the bedside of an unconscious Rias. Irina stood next to him with a hand on his shoulder. Rossweisse, Kuroka, and Ingvild stood behind her as everyone was in the room, sitting and waiting for Rias to wake up. The only sound that could be heard was the steady beeping of Rias's EKG and the sound of IV dripping from the bag. Her chest rose and fell gently.

"Issei," Kuroka said.

"..."

"Rias!" the door burst open to reveal a worried Sirzechs who was followed by Grayfia, who was holding Millicas, Serafall, Sona, Ajuka, and Tabane, who held Lily. He ran over to her bed, pushing everyone out of the way and knelt next to her bed, holding her hand. He grit his teeth as he pressed his forehead against her pale hand.

"Rias…," Sirzechs said as tears ran down his face. He looked up to Issei. "Who did this?"

"Abaddon," Issei growled.

A red and black aura surrounded Sirzechs. He felt a hand on his shoulder and calmed down.

"We'll get them back for this," Grayfia said.

"What happened to her?" Sirzechs said.

"We got knocked out. When I woke up, they had me bound and harvested my blood to use to help the Evil Dragon Bakunawa escape. Turns out that they were going to use him to lure out Asmodeus," Issei said. "Then we fought the demon Gremory and she went into some sort of form. She called it Qliphoth Mode. She became as strong as you but Rias still jumped in to fight her. Eventually, I distracted her long enough for Rias to swat Gremory into the sky. After that, we remembered that the vial was missing. Rias found it but Abaddon stabbed her from behind with a blade formed from her darkness and then Bakunawa was freed and that was that," Issei said.

"How is she alive then?" Sirzechs asked.

"I didn't make another deal don't worry. I had Phenex Tears on me this time," Issei said.

Sirzechs sighed in relief. His heart couldn't take it if he lost two siblings within a single day. He looked up to Rias's peaceful face and smiled. His hand reached up and began to stroke his sister's hair.

"Can I come in?" they turned and saw a devil doctor standing at the door with several files.

"Sure," Sirzechs said. The doctor walked inside and looked at Rias. He sighed and turned to Sirzechs.

"Your sister has lost a massive amount of blood. She was lucky that Phenex Tears were administered on time otherwise, she wouldn't be with us at the moment," the doctor said. "We would like your permission to keep her here for a few more days to observe her, Lord Lucifer," the doctor said to Sirzechs.

"Of course!" he said. The doctor nodded.

"However, we will need a blood transfusion if we are to speed up her recovery. She has lost a lot of blood after all," the doctor said.

"Sure take mine," Sirzechs said, holding his arm out.

"First and foremost, we would consult the family for blood as they might share blood types but this is not the case here, Lord Lucifer. You and your sister, unfortunately, do not share a blood type. We need a negative blood type for your sister. Sadly, you are A+ Lord Lucifer," the doctor said. Sirzechs grit his teeth and was about to protest when Mitsuki spoke up.

"I'm AB-," Mitsuki said.

Sirzechs turned to her with a grateful look in his eyes.

"Aniki and I share a blood type. He's also AB-. In any case, I'll donate," she said, holding her arm out.

"Very well, if you would follow me so that we can draw your blood," the doctor said. Mitsuki nodded and followed the doctor out.

"Now, onto other matters. Where is Asmodeus, Issei?" Ajuka asked.

"Right behind you."

Ajuka let out a girlish scream as he jumped up and hid behind Grayfia and Serafall. The two had deadpan looks on their faces while Sirzechs had an embarrassed look on his face. Tabane hid her giggles behind her hand as she tried not to break down.

Everyone else sweatdropped.

_Did the Maou Beelzebub just scream like a little girl?_ Was their collective thoughts. Well, mostly everyone. Mitsuki wasn't here and Rias was asleep.

Asmodeus's yellow eyes glinted in amusement as she looked at him.

"Hello there," she greeted.

Sirzechs bowed to her. "Asmodeus-sama. I am Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Four Maou of the Underworld. On behalf of the other Maou and the other devils here and the rest of the Underworld, we welcome you."

"Now, now, don't bow to me. If anything, I should be the one bowing to you since I am no longer a leader," Asmodeus said. Sirzechs stood and nodded to her.

"Serafall Leviathan," Serafall said respectfully.

"Ajuka Beelzebub," Ajuka said.

"Grayfia Lucifuge," Grayfia said.

"Very well, I am Asmodeus. The Sixth Prince of Hell and the Sin of Lust. Mother of Tala, Mayari, Apolaki, and Hanan and wife of the God of Power and Creation, Bathala. Shadow Queen of the Philippine Pantheon," Asmodeus said.

"That's a shit load of titles," Bikou said.

"Quite," Asmodeus said.

The door opened to reveal Mitsuki as she walked back in slightly pale and a large bandage around her arm. Asmodeus's eyes narrowed for a split second before she looked back at Sirzechs.

"Let's talk shall we?" Asmodeus offered.

"Yes. But not here, let's talk at the Ars Nova. The Archangels are coming with Bael-sama and Metatron-sama," Sirzechs said.

"Onii-chan is coming!~" Asmodeus said with an extremely happy smile on her face. She grabbed Sirzechs and Grayfia. "Let's go then!" she said as she, Sirzechs, and Grayfia disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Several hours passed and everyone left until only Issei and Irina were left in Rias's room. Issei kept sitting there with a small smile on his face as memories ran through his head.

"Hey, remember that time we replaced Rias's shampoo with green hair dye," Issei said.

"Pfft, yeah, that was hilarious," Irina chuckled.

"Yeah, things were simpler back then," Issei said.

"Issei. You're doing the right thing by moving forward," Irina said to him.

"It took her nearly dying for me to realize that I had to get over all of this. God, I'm such an idiot," Issei said.

"Yes, you are. But you're my idiot," Irina said.

"You… two are being… disgustingly adorable you two are being right now," Rias groaned as her eyes opened.

"Rias!" the two exclaimed.

"He-" she felt herself being pulled into a crushing embrace by Issei. "Issei?" Rias asked.

Her eyes softened when she felt her hospital gown become wet from Issei's tears. Her hand reached up and began to stroke his hair softly.

"Shhh, it's alright. I'm fine, see," Rias said with a small smile on her face.

"You idiot! Don't ever do that again!" Issei said, his voice muffled slightly by her hair.

"I'm not making any promises," Rias said. "After all, we're friends. It's what we do."

Irina smiled as she watched the two make up and decided to give them some privacy.

"So," Rias said as she pulled away and smiled.

"Friends?" Issei said.

"Best Friends," Rias said, smiling at him. She looked down as small tears fell from her eyes.

"I'm sorry Issei. I'm sorry for everything I did to you. For hurting you the way I did. You didn't deserve any of that. I pulled you into a world that you shouldn't have been apart of. If I never met you, you would have lived a normal life. Met Irina again. Had three kids and a dog and a cat and be normal," Rias said.

"Rias," she looked up at Issei's words. He looked down and smiled sadly.

"It's okay. I forgive you. But… I'll never forget what you did. It hurt me so much and I didn't understand why. Why did you doubt our relationship?" Issei asked.

"Because of how it was," she said. "I wanted to make sure that I didn't fall for you because you broke me out of a marriage but that I loved you for you. Not just some image I had built of you inside my head and sadly, I realized my mistake when it was too late. You suffered alone as your pieces killed you," Rias said.

Issei remained silent at her words. He looked up at her sadly. "You were an idiot," Issei said.

"I know," Rias said.

"Let's start over," Issei said, causing her to blink. He held his hand out. "Hi, I'm Hyoudou Issei."

Rias smiled and clasped his hand. "My name is Rias Gremory."

He smiled back.

"You know even if you never met or reincarnated me… I still would have been dragged into all of this because of Beelzebub," Issei said. Rias looked at him curiously.

"My Miasma was always part of me. Given to me as a baby by that bastard," Issei said. "These powers. They ruined my life. My sister got killed because of these powers and now, I'm going to die," Issei said.

"Don't say that. We will get you out of this. We've been through worse," Rias said. Issei looked at her with a false smile plastered onto his face.

"Yeah, maybe," Issei said.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, October 18, 2020, 3:15 PM**

* * *

Issei fell to his knee, holding Ascalon for support. He grit his teeth and looked up as Bael crossed his arms together. Off to the side, Metatron and Asmodeus stood, watching. Asmodeus had an amused smile on her face while Metatron offered him an encouraging one.

"Is that it kid?" Bael asked.

"N- No! I can still keep going," Issei said as he stood and pointed Ascalon at him. A few days ago, Bael and Metatron had decided to move their business to Kuoh. A house had just opened up down the street near Murayama's house and Bael and Metatron moved in. Asmodeus, of course, was just visiting as she had been brought before the Celestial Council to question her and the other Princes. Issei wished he had been there. From what he had heard from Risa, Asmodeus almost ripped off Zadkiel's balls and had to be restrained by Dagon, Ramiel, and Bael.

Bael sighed and performed the "come at me" motion. Issei disappeared and reappeared behind Bael. He swung Ascalon which was easily blocked by Bael's sword. Bael slammed his foot into Issei's stomach, sending him into the wall.

"Should we heal him?" Metatron asked.

"No, let Issei tire himself out."

Metatron and Asmodeus turned and saw Azazel and Azrael walking in followed by Risa.

"Onii-sama, Onee-sama," Metatron said.

"Auntie, Uncle," Asmodeus greeted.

"Yo, Azrael-ba chan! Ji-san!" Bael said. Issei burst from the rubble with **[Boosted Gear]** activated and Ascalon raised.

**[Boost!]**

Issei performed a downward slash on a distracted Bael only for his eyes to widen when his attack hit nothing but air. Bael appeared behind him and grabbed Issei, performing a suplex. The ground exploded as dust flew into the air.

Azrael sighed and placed her hand across her forehead.

"Alright, that's enough," she said as she waved her hand, causing the dust to be blown away.

Issei groaned on the ground while Bael stood next to him, grinning.

"That was a good match kid!"

"Speak for yourself… I spent the entire hour being clapped like a standing ovation," Issei said.

"Ahem," Azazel said.

The two turned to the Archangels. Issei saw a familiar twinkle in Azazel's eye. "Right, so Bael, Metatron, how are you two fitting in?"

"We're fine Onii-sama. Business is booming with the college campus here though I wish they would stop having sex in the bathrooms or on the tables," Metatron said.

"They're young Nee-sama. You should let them have some fun," Asmodeus said.

"Fun? What if Michael or Lisara walked downstairs?" Metatron said. Asmodeus paused for a second before conceding to her sister in law.

"Sheesh, you two, can't you get along? Bael and Metatron have been married for a few million years now," Azrael said, her black eyes gleaming in hidden amusement at their interaction. Her face had a small smile on it as she watched her sister and niece interact.

"Az-nee. Why are you two here?" Issei asked. Azrael walked over to him and pulled something out from her pocket. Issei's eyes widened. The Colt.

"We had Hephaestus reforge it. Though, it might not be as powerful as before," Azazel said.

"Huh? Why?" Issei asked.

"Only seven souls when into reforging it Issei. Hephaestus, Cornelius, Lisa, Eric, Dantalion, Thoth, and Harmonia all donated soul fragments to reforge the barrel," Azrael said.

"So now…?"

"Now, it can fire regular bullets that have the same effect as Enochian ones. Several matrices were added to channel power throughout the barrel and the bullets are specially made to absorb the power trapped inside," Azrael said. "The drawback is that the bullets can only be made with a special type of rare earth metal called Etherium and can only be found on the other end of the Orion Arm in some obscure star system with a broken moon. You're lucky we can make these things out of thin air now otherwise, we would have to work on the warp gates to get there. It also has a little problem," Azrael said as she created a block of metal from nothing before erasing it.

"Problem?" Issei said as he held the weapon in his hands.

"Yes, Hephaestus had to modify it a little in order to get it to work. With projectile weapons, it is always the projectile that is enhanced and never the actual shooter," Azrael said.

"Hmmm," Issei lifted the gun and cocked it. He fired it at the wall, causing the wall to crack. Issei blinked and stared down at the revolver.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked.

"That's the little kink he said. Fortunately, a few applications of Enochian Seals fixed the issue. All we had to do was store power inside the runes. If you ever run out of bullets, the gun can fire all that stored energy," Azazel said. "Just focus your Miasma into it. I've made it so that the seals are receptive to any power source."

"Thanks," Issei said as he applied the seals.

"Oh, don't forget," Azrael tossed him a small case. Issei caught it and looked inside to see two rows of thirteen bullets. He nodded and opened a magic circle to store the weapon.

"We also need to talk to you about why we think Lilith is coming after you and the possibility of her invading Kuoh," Azrael said.

Issei went silent.

"First off, let's get the Kuoh thing out of the way. In the event that Lilith invades which she will most likely do, the first thing she'll do is keep us out so Azazel and I won't be able to help you, however, we've taken steps to account for this. Bathala and Amatsu-Mikaboshi will be here in our place," Azrael said.

"Wait, how can she ke-?"

"Keep us out. She can't but she'll most likely be using spells that drilpa aishh provides her with," Azazel said.

"Yes, that will be what expels us and what keeps us from coming in. When the demons come, they will spare no expense and throw everything they have at you. All you have to do is survive past midnight," Azrael said.

"Survive past midnight?" Issei asked.

"Yes, there is a fourth way to break a deal," Azazel said.

"All you have to do is make it past your allotted time… normally that is," Azrael said.

"But with the circumstances, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to kill you after that," Azazel said after.

"So if I survive to the next day, I get to live?" Issei asked.

"Yes, you do. The deal would, like we said, normally be considered null and void but those rules are decided by the current leader of the Faustian Demos and right now, Lilith has complete and total control over all demonic operations, meaning that she can make it so that you could be exempt from those rules. Again, this all has to do with why we think they want you down there," Azrael explained.

"Why do they want me down there so badly?" Issei asked. Metatron glanced at her older brother and sister, who began to look their age.

"Listen closely because this is the most likely reason as to why. We may know a lot of things but we can never claim to know what is inside our sister's head," Azazel said.

After several minutes of explaining, Issei dropped to his knees.

"W- What? I thought I was done with that crap. Why am I the one who has to start it!?" Issei yelled.

"I'm sorry Issei but it has been written," Metatron said.

"But I don't even fit the description! Seriously! Look at me! I'm a freaking demon or close to one! How does that even constitute as worthy!" Issei said.

"I'm sorry Issei," Azazel said.

Issei looked up at him.

"All I have to do is survive right?"

They nodded pensively.

"And there's still a chance she might kill me after the clock strikes twelve right?"

The two nodded again. "I guess I really do have no choice then," Issei said. "Bael-sama. Please train me!" Issei said, prostrating himself.

"Get up," Bael said. Issei slowly stood to his feet and faced the diminutive man.

"It's time to teach you something new," Bael said, his eyes glinting sadistically. Metatron smiled and Asmodeus sighed.

Issei felt like he just made the second-worst mistake of his entire life.

* * *

**Omake: Promises**

* * *

"Rin!" Issei shouted as his tiny legs moved as fast as it could carry his eight-year-old frame. First, Onee-chan disappears, not that he didn't like Az-nee but still. Now Rin. He arrived outside of their house and saw Rin wearing a skirt and wearing a backpack. He looked like he had been crying. His violet eyes traveled to meet Issei.

"Ise-kun," Rin said.

"Rin," Issei said.

"Irina, come," Touji said as he wheeled his bag to the moving truck.

"Dear, let her say goodbye," a woman with long black hair and violet eyes said. "Issei-chan. You have ten minutes to say goodbye," Ariana said.

"But why?" Issei asked. Ariana bit her lip. The why question.

"Irina, isn't there something you want to say?" Ariana said, deflecting the question.

"*_sniff_* Ise-kun... I'll miss *_sniff_* you," Rin said between sobs.

Issei began crying. His best and only friend was leaving. He was going to be alone again. He had no friends because his little sister drove them all away. Why he did not know. He was always nice to her so why was she so mean? Was it because Tou-chan and Kaa-chan loved her more? It was obvious to Issei that their parents loved her more than him. He looked at Rin and decided to ask.

"Rin. Why are you wearing a skirt? Isn't that for girls?" Issei asked.

"I am a girl," she said.

Issei blinked and looked at her for the first time. Now that he did, she was way too cute to be a boy. Issei felt heat rising to his cheeks. Rin shifted and fidgeted with her skirt.

"Do you hate girls, Ise-kun?" Rin asked cutely.

"NO! I could never hate Rin. I'm just sad that you're moving away," Issei said.

"Let's make a promise," Rin said, sticking her pinky finger out.

"Yeah!" Issei said, hooking her own onto his.

"Let's promise that no matter what happens we will always be there for each other, no matter how far we are," Rin said.

"I promise," and then Issei remembered a line Lily always said. "Cross my heart and hope to eat cake."

Rin giggled. She wasn't as sad now. She and Ise made a promise to always be there for each other and by extension always be together.

"Irina!" Touji yelled.

"I'm coming!" she called back. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Bye, Ise-kun. I promise to write. Cross my heart and hope to eat cake."

"Yeah, me too," Issei said.

Rin began to walk to the car but then suddenly turned and lunged to Issei. Issei's eyes widened.

_CHUUU!~_

"Ara, ara," Ariana said as she looked out the car window.

Irina kissed Issei on the cheek and kept her lips there for 10 seconds. She pulled off and ran to her car with a red face. Before she got on, she turned to Issei.

"That was for luck because I know that you'll have a hard time going on adventures without me," Irina said. Issei nodded mutely before waving.

* * *

Issei sighed as he sat on the couch. Irina looked at him curiously as she saw the look in his eye. He was having a flashback.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Remember that promise we made as kids," Issei said. "Thanks for remembering it."

"I'll never forget that promise," Irina said.

"I never did either, even if I couldn't recall it, my mind always remembered," Issei said.

"So why bring it up now?"

"Oh, no reason."

"Mmmm."

"Hey, Rin?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"UGH! SOME OF US ARE TRYING TO WATCH A MOVIE! GO BE DISGUSTINGLY ADORABLE SOMEWHERE ELSE!" Mitsuki groaned. Her expression was mirrored by everyone else in the room.

"Let's go Ise-kun," Irina said, giggling.

"Yeah, let's go Rin," Issei said, grabbing her hand.

The two walked off and Mitsuki looked at their retreating forms and saw a younger Issei and Irina in their place.

"Good for you Aniki," she said.

* * *

**Review Replies (I'm gonna stop posting your reviews as I feel like it's exposing you all and what you wrote soooo.)**

**To Scrumblenut: No worries. Life is unpredictable. At least you get to binge these. Take care to you too.**

**To OechsnerC: Yes, Issei does need a new form. I do plan on giving him one but can he stand up to Lilith, that's the big question.**

**To Uday Sra: Thanks. You're awesome too.**

**To leader . dbz: Just imagine how many characters will be here by the end... gods all the wiki articles I'll have to write.**

**To AnimeFan0216: Well, at least someone agrees that Eresh is best goddess.**

**To Rhongomyniad: You did get the question right but in a different context so I still counted it. I technically asked two questions so you answered the first? on right. Or was it the second? Eh, all I know is you guessed right. I hope that the Omake was to your liking. I added my own twist to it.**

* * *

**That's the end of that chapter. Let me know your thoughts and comments in the reviews below. Before I end this, I would like to say cheers to everyone who stuck around since day one. I cannot thank you enough for reading this story. Remember to hit that fav/follow button if you enjoyed this. I hope you did. Remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**

**PS: I changed the description of Abaddon's Qliphoth Mode.**

**PPS: Thank you for pointing out that I mixed up the blood types, id74em8. AB+ is the universal recipient and AB- can receive all negative blood types.**


	42. Lovers Quarrel

**Happy late Thanksgiving. Sorry for posting this so late. I was at dinner with my family and friends. So anyway, this chapter brings up something I mentioned all the way back near the end of Season 1. Apollo and Artemis. You might not remember but Artemis killed Apollo's best friend so this chapter is them dealing with it alongside... something else. I'm sorry for everyone who hates NTR. I don't like NTR myself but Hephaestus's entire marriage is an entire NTR situation so you'll get insight into that. Anyway, let's get going!**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Mount Olympus, November 25, 2020, 2:35 AM, Current Time: 1 minute and 27 seconds Til Midnight**

Artemis sighed as she sat in the Olympian Council Meeting. Her father, Zeus, had requested- no, _demanded_ her presence at the meeting and thus she had to leave her lieutenant Thalia at the Hyoudou Manor. She was wary of leaving the girl because she might give Issei the wrong idea about her feelings. Her silver eyes traveled across the entire council room and rested on her twin brother Apollo. She had talked more with Mitsuki during her stay and remembered her words.

"_Maybe you should try talking to him. Maybe he wants to be siblings again too. After all, forever is a long time to hold a grudge against your family."_

_After the meeting_," Artemis thought as she listened to her father drone on and on about how they should support Mayari's efforts to curb Rudianos's ever-increasing hold on the Celestial Council. Hell, even some of their own turned to him such as the minor gods Hecate and Morpheus. Many of them had said their own pieces during the meeting with Artemis giving her report on her stay with the Red Dragon Emperor. All of them, except for her older brother, Hephaestus.

Hephaestus had always been her favorite out of all her siblings except for Apollo. He was kind, caring, and nurturing as opposed to her other siblings such as Athena, who was nice but was never good at being a sister, Ares was an asshole, end of story, she and Aphrodite never got along, Hermes was a pervert, and Dionysus was a lazy prick.

Hephaestus's hazel eyes caught hers and he sent her a smile which she returned. The meeting ended, thank Chaos, and every god flashed out. Ares and Aphrodite left together causing Artemis to sigh. They did it right in front of him too. Hephaestus began to walk towards his temple, when Hebe tackled him from behind. She giggled and Hephaestus sighed before allowing her to climb on his back. Artemis looked on in sadness as she remembered when she used to do that for Apollo. Sighing, Artemis decided to follow after them. After spotting her, Hebe smiled.

"Big sis!" Hebe said.

"Hello, Hebe," Artemis said.

"Artemis," Hephaestus greeted.

"Hello, big brother," she said as they walked to his temple.

Several nymphs began to whisper and stare at Hephaestus as he walked to his and Aphrodite's shared temple and Artemis began to feel massive headache coming. She knew what they were about to walk into and it seemed that Hebe knew as well. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Eros standing at the doorway with a slightly disgusted and pensive face which only grew when he saw his adoptive father. His sad blue eyes locked with Hephaestus's now emotionless hazel ones. Hebe hopped off Hephaestus's back and gripped his arm. Hephaestus shot her a reassuring gaze which was clearly false and went for the door. The sounds of flesh smacking and grunts accompanied by the orgasmic moans of a female could be heard as Hephaestus opened the door.

"Fuck me harder Ares! Show me how much more of a God you are than that cripple I married!"

Artemis's face contorted into one of anger and disgust as she saw Ares taking Aphrodite from behind. Her large breasts were swinging rhythmically to his thrusts. As she went to go yell at them for the 4,789,675,978,456,001st time, Hephaestus held his hand up to stop her. Confused, she became alarmed when Hephaestus summoned his black falchion Tenebris and slashed his palm. He began to paint a sigil on the door and slammed his palm on it.

All she heard were agonized screams and a flash of light which forced her to cover her eyes. When the light died, she saw Ares was gone and Aphrodite was staring at her husband shellshocked. Shaking his head, Hephaestus made his way to his forge. Eros shot his mother an angered look before spreading his white wings and following after him. Hebe looked at her older sister in disgust and teleported away, not being able to bear the sight of her.

Only Artemis and Aphrodite were left in the room as the Goddess covered herself.

"You're disgusting you know that right?" Artemis said, crossing her arms.

"How? Is it because of who I'm married to?" Aphrodite shot back.

"What did he ever do to you?" Artemis asked.

"Nothing. It was just the circumstance. I needed him to know that he will never be good enough or beautiful enough for someone like me. The fact that he hasn't broken our marriage yet is surprising but it will only push me to try harder," Aphrodite said.

"You whore! He loved you! He dedicated his entir-"

"Correction. He loved my body like everyone did. But did he really think that I would just settle for him? No, I will never love Hephaestus like I love Ares and the way Ares loves me," Aphrodite said.

"You cruel, conniving slut! Ares does not love you! He loves your body!" Artemis said.

"Wrong, Ares told me himself that he loves me so be a dear and buzz off virgin," Aphrodite said as she began to fix her hair. "I have something scheduled with Hermes later."

Artemis growled and went for her dagger when an arm grabbed onto hers. She turned and saw it was Apollo, who was sending Aphrodite a similar look. Next to him was Harmonia whose eyes were flickering between her normal color and black. Apparently, they had been there the whole time. Storming past her step-mother, who greeted her, Harmonia opened the door to her father's workshop and slammed it shut. Apollo and Artemis followed her and entered Hephaestus's forge. Hephaestus sat on one of the fire retardant couches staring at a photo and a sword laid out in front of him.

It was the most beautiful weapon Artemis had ever seen. The weapon was a silver shortsword with the blade being 50 cm in length. Its pommel was decorated with a short chain-link tassel. The center of the hilt housed a bright red gem that was overflowing with raw power. Artemis could feel it fighting like a restrained beast and she noticed that it radiated a slight draconic aura to it.

"Hephaestus…," Artemis snapped out of her awe when Apollo spoke.

"Hey, man, is everything alright?" Apollo asked. Artemis would have slapped him but she didn't know how to go about this either.

"It's fine," Hephaestus said, putting a picture. Artemis looked down and saw Hephaestus standing with a woman with black hair with white at the tips. She had blue eyes that sparkled with happiness. She noticed that Hephaestus had been the happiest she had ever seen him in that photo and her eyes caught a glimpse of what the woman was holding in her arms. A baby. The tuft of yellow hair was all she needed to figure out the baby's identity. It was Harmonia. Artemis looked back at the woman and finally recognized her. Aglaia. Aphrodite's servant, whom the woman cast out for bewitching her husband.

"Heph...," Artemis asked.

"I'm fine, Artemis, Apollo. Really," he said, smiling.

"Why do you put up with her?" Apollo asked. "You clearly have someone else that loves you more," he said, gesturing down to the picture.

"I agree, why don't you go be with her? No one would bat an eyelash if you divorce Aphrodite now. Chaos knows that Father favors you as much as he does Athena and Apollo," Artemis said.

"Because certain circumstances prevent us from being together," Hephaestus answered with a hint of longing in his voice. Harmonia and Eros looked longingly at the picture, at the woman.

"Aglaia's a goddess. She should still be out there, waiting," Apollo said.

"You don't understand," Harmonia said. The twins turned to face her and Eros.

"Mom, she can't be with dad for reasons bigger than that," Eros said.

"Isn't Aphrodite your mother?" Artemis asked.

"All mother ever cared about was having sex and breaking hearts. I'm the God of Love. What mother does goes against what I have pledged myself to do. Do you remember Psyche? Aglaia was more of a mother to me than her," Eros asked. Apollo and Artemis shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, we'll come back in a bit. Call us if you need to talk," Artemis said. Hephaestus nodded gratefully as Artemis and Apollo left the temple. As they walked, they never noticed Aphrodite stepping out from the corner with an unreadable expression on her face.

_Plop._

Aphrodite's eyes widened as her hand shot to her face and wiped off whatever just fell. She shook her head and teleported from her temple.

* * *

Apollo and Artemis strolled through Olympus. Apollo winked at a few nymphs, causing them to blush while Artemis contemplated what she was going to say to her brother. They needed to clear this topic. Yes, they were beginning to become close again, following the Azazel Cup but this topic was one they danced around.

"Apollo, we need to talk," Artemis said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Apollo looked confused until he saw the look in Artemis's eyes. His face hardened and he answered her.

"Yeah, we do," he said as he teleported them to an unknown location.

Artemis noticed that they were in a forested area. Birds chirped around them and wildlife frolicked in every direction. The sounds of a stream could be heard in the distance and Artemis finally noticed a small hut that was nested near one of the large fir trees.

"Delos," she whispered.

"Okay, Artemis, let's talk," Apollo said, walking off and turning to face her. His blue eyes were as cold as ice and Artemis almost flinched underneath his gaze.

"I want to talk about what happened to Orion," she said.

"What about her?" he asked. Images of a girl with blue hair and green eyes flashed through his head. Echoes of a broken promise rang through his mind.

_Let's have an eternity of romance, Apollo_

"I- I…," Artemis began.

"Do you want to talk about the part where she died in my arms or the part where you shot her because I fell in love with her?" Apollo said.

Artemis stayed silent.

"You can't even say it," Apollo said.

"I'm sorry," Artemis whispered. Tears began to well up in her silver eyes.

"You don't get to be sorry. You killed her because I loved her!" Apollo roared.

"I did-..."

"I was finally going to be happy Artemis. After everything that happened with Daphne, I was going to be happy! But you had to shoot her. All because she didn't want to be a huntress anymore," Apollo said. "Right?"

"No… no… no! I didn't shoot her because of that! I shot her to protect you!" Artemis yelled.

"Protect me! From what! From being happy! From be-"

"FROM ANOTHER HEARTBREAK!" she screamed. All the animals jumped in fright and fled.

"...," Apollo regarded his sister silently.

"I saw what Daphne did to you and you have no idea how much that hurt me. I'm your big sister. It's my job to protect you from being hurt so when Orion expressed her feelings for you and you told me of yours, I only thought that it would end badly so I took matters into my own hands," Artemis said, looking down.

"All that because you thought you were protecting me! Artemis, you just caused it!" Apollo said.

"I know and words can never express how sorry I am. So please… beat me, degrade me, abuse me in any way because I'll wholeheartedly accept all of it, but please don't hate me! I can never live knowing that my other half loathes my existence," Artemis said, sobbing as she prostrated herself in front of Apollo.

Apollo looked shocked at what his sister was doing. She was asking him to take his anger out on her. A million thoughts raced through his head but the most prominent one was:

_I can't do this!_

"Artemis, stand up," he said.

She looked up at Apollo and slowly got to her feet.

"Apollo?" Artemis asked tentatively.

"I can never forget what you did to Orion nor will I ever understand but… the past several hundred years have been unbearable without you in it. I- I miss my big sister but I'm afraid that you'll hurt me like you did all those years ago," Apollo confessed.

"...," Artemis looked at Apollo in sadness. "Apollo…, if you want, I can petition for uncle Hades to bring her back. Make an exception just this once. I'll even trade my immortality for her life!" she said.

Apollo looked down at the grass.

"I-!"

_I'm a bitch, I'm a lover I'm a child, I'm a mother I'm a sinner, I'm a saint_

Apollo grabbed his phone and answered the call.

"Yeah?"

"Something's happening?"

"Yeah, we'll be there," Apollo said before hanging up. "We'll talk about this later. Something's going on at Hephaestus and Aphrodite's temple."

* * *

**Hephaestus and Aphrodite's Temple**

* * *

A woman slinked her way through the various nymphs and dryads as well as satyrs and nature spirits that made their homes on Olympus. She had back length midnight black hair, her eyes were as blue as ice, and she wore a graceful smile on her face as she walked. The dryads who spotted her began to whisper and one of them began to pull a drachma out of their pocket.

"_Someone get the Graces or tell lady Aphrodite!"_

As she walked up the stairs of Hephaestus and Aphrodite's shared temple, she felt a sense of resignation enter her gut.

"It's now or never," she whispered to herself. As she moved to the door, a flash of pink light appeared in front of her. Aphrodite stood in front of the door with her arms crossed and her kaleidoscopic eyes shifting through a multitude of emotions with the most prominent being anger.

"What are you doing here?" the love goddess asked.

"I'm here to see Hephaestus," she said.

"I have told you that you are to never see my husband again Aglaia," Aphrodite said.

"Oh and why not? Who gave you the right to prevent Heph from forming bonds with other women?" Agalia growled.

"It is my right as his wife," Aphrodite answered.

"You seem to love throwing that word around even then when it suits you. Other times you publicly shame him and openly show your disgust at even the thought of him," Aglaia retorted.

Aphrodite was about to answer when she felt someone walk past her.

"Hephaestus," Aglaia said.

"Aglaia," Hephaestus said.

"I'm here to talk to you," she said, a happy smile forming on her face.

Hephaestus smiled at her and gestured for her to follow. She beamed and walked up to him, grabbing his hand. He smiled and gripped it tightly. The two walked past a shocked and angry Aphrodite, who attempted to follow them inside only to feel an invisible force holding her in place. Her eyes widened when she caught a momentary glow in Aglaia's eyes. Red and black.

_D- Demon?_

The doors closed and Aphrodite found herself being able to move again. She ran up to the door and began to pound her fists on it. After several minutes, she gave up and began to make calls.

Hephaestus led her into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Aglaia" straddled him and kissed him passionately, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. Hephaestus returned the kiss with equal fervor and after a fe- several minutes of being lip locked, the two pulled apart.

"Lilith, not that I'm not happy to see you but why are you here?" Hephaestus asked.

"I've come here to ask you something," she said, getting off his lap and standing before him. Her heart beat a million beats per minute and she struggled to control her breathing. She closed her eyes and inhaled to calm herself down before turning around and looked at him with all the resolve she could muster.

"Join me," Lilith said, extending her hand in invitation.

Hephaestus's eyes widened at the two words that exited her mouth. He looked down at the floor, unable to meet her eyes as he tried to formulate a response. His mouth became dry and he licked his lips to moisten them.

"I…," Hephaestus said.

"Yes?" Lilith asked, eagerly awaiting his answer.

"I can't," he said.

Lilith froze and took a step back, shaking her head in denial.

"Why?" she asked. "WHY!?"

Her aura flared and the entirety of the temple was shaken by violent tremors that traveled throughout Olympus. In the throne room, Hestia stopped poking the Hearth with her fire iron and looked towards Hephaestus's temple. She sighed and began to inscribe Greek Runes on her door, creating a barrier over her around the Throne Room.

Hephaestus looked into his wife's grief-stricken eyes as she tried to process his refusal.

"Why? Why won't you join me?" Lilith asked.

Hephaestus looked at her.

"I don't want to be responsible for the deaths of so many innocents. Lilith, we achieved peace! It's what your mother wanted for so long. Peace among the pantheons again. A unity that you all achieved during the Holy War," Hephaestus said.

"This is not peace, Heph. This is a lie. Have you not seen the state of your council?" she argued.

"It can be fixed," he argued back.

"No, it cannot. Every day that passes, the Gaulish War God and his compatriots gain more and more influence. Your council is at war with itself," she said.

"And what are you doing? You're tearing apart the planet and what next, the galaxy? This universe even? I was told stories of the war Lilith! Entire universes! Each one containing trillions of life, wiped out due to Total Event Collapses initiated by all three sides!" Hephaestus argued. "You're trying to bring that back?"

Lilith shook her head as if he had said the most blasphemous thing.

"There doesn't need to be a war if everyone just submits! I'm trying to make the world better!" she retorted.

"At what cost? Issei?" Hephaestus asked.

Lilith froze. She looked at him with pained eyes. Hephaestus could now see the burden she had placed upon herself in trying to take her mother's role.

"Lilith, stop this. We can still make things right," he said as he approached her. As Hephaestus neared her, a powerful telekinetic force blasted him away from her and through the doors. Hephaestus landed on the floor of his forge. He sat up and quickly jumped when a sword made of a pure white crystal embedded itself on the ground. Hephaestus held his hand out and the short sword flew into it.

"Lilith?" he asked.

Lilith lifted the Jeweled Sword from its place in the ground and looked at him with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Heph, but the truth is, I'm past saving. And I can't let them realize one of my only true weaknesses. You. I can't let them use you against me, that's why, forgive me for what I'm about to do," Lilith said as a violet aura surrounded her.

"You know I could never hate you," he said as he pointed his sword at her. "But don't expect me to just roll over and let you have your way."

"I expected that the minute you grabbed the Sefirot Ensemble," Lilith said.

The two stood there for a few more seconds before charging at each other. A husband against his wife and a wife against her husband.

* * *

Apollo and Artemis arrived on Olympus and saw Harmonia with Issei and Rossweisse. She looked at them and waved before walking over.

"Hey, where'd you two go?" Harmonia asked.

"We talked," Apollo said. He turned and saw Issei waving at him and Rossweisse bowing to him respectfully.

"Apollo-sama. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Issei, this is Rossweisse," he said.

"I know who you are. The one who captured big si-" Apollo's eyes widened when he felt a mouth clasp around his mouth. His blue eyes turned and saw the embarrassed eyes of his older sister.

"The one who what?" Issei asked, tilting his head.

"The one who captured and killed Apophis of course!" Artemis said with an atomic blush on her face.

"I didn't capture Apophis. He died honorably in battle," he said.

"Right, so what are you doing here?" Apollo asked after prying Artemis's hand off his mouth.

"We're here to visit Hephaestus. Bael-sama sent me here to get some warp gates while Rossweisse wants some pointers to make her Enochian Spell, Shekhinah, more potent," Issei said.

"Oh, cool. We're headed there right now. Wanna walk together?" Apollo asked.

"Sure," Issei said.

The five walked together, Issei and Artemis chatting animatedly while Apollo observed. A seed of anger entered his heart. Thoughts of ruining his sister's budding relationship to get back but were immediately squashed when he remembered that she was offering her own immortality for Orion to be brought back. As they neared the temple, Issei, Harmonia, and Rossweisse froze. Apollo and Artemis looked on curiously as they saw Dryads fleeing from the direction of Hephaestus's temple. The ground shook as a violet beam of light shot past them, forcing them all to jump out of its way. The beam traveled and vaporized several miles of housing, leaving a fifteen-foot deep molten trench in the ground.

Zeus and Poseidon flashed in followed by Ares and Athena. A blonde blur came running out of the smoke and latched onto Ares, sobbing.

"Aphrodite, what happened?" Zeus asked.

"Oh daddy, it was horrible! I was waiting patiently outside if Hephaestus's temple went there was this explosion and Hephaestus was thrown out and then this white haired woman-," Aphrodite was interrupted by Issei.

"Wait, white haired woman?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" she asked.

"Did she have her bangs tied in an upwards ponytail?" Issei asked.

"I think? I didn't get a good look because I was running for my life," Aphrodite said.

"Nee-chan," Issei muttered.

A figure burst from the smoke and crashed into one of the temples, bringing the entire structure down on top of them.

Everyone slowly turned when they heard footsteps and saw Lilith walking out of the smoke, a white sword that was seemingly made of jewels in her left hand. Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, and Athena readied themselves for battle when Lilith took off. She rushed past them and appeared above the rubble that Hephaestus was buried under.

"MOM! STOP!" Harmonia screamed.

Lilith froze and turned to look at her daughter with a sad smile.

The rubble exploded and Lilith was sent flying into the air. A large wound was on her side and was expelling black smoke. She righted herself in the air and placed a hand over her wound. Her blue eyes traveled down to the figure in the smoke. Hephaestus was now donning full body silver armor with yellow eyes in the visor. On his back was a long white cape. In his hand was a large halberd like spear.

**{{Sefirot Ensemble: Initial Release}}** Hephaestus announced.

"So you're getting serious after all?" Lilith said as she hovered in the air.

"What is that?" Ares asked.

"The Sefirot Ensemble," Zeus said.

"Sefirot Ensemble?" Athena asked.

"Hephaestus's secret weapon. It was forged from the talon and scale of the previous Dragon Kings, Ugin and Palladia Mors, as well as some of the hardest metals that can be found on this planet. It's final and penultimate ingredient is that it contains a fragment of the Sefirot Fruit. The very same that Adam and Eve ate. It's what gives Hephaestus's weapon it's immense power," Zeus said.

"It also has three evolutions. Dad said that the third and final one will let him match beings such as Bathala, Chaos, and Amasu-Mikaboshi at their full powers and Mom in her Qliphoth Mode," Harmonia added.

"Are you not concerned that Hephaestus will try to overthrow you with such a weapon father?" Athena asked.

"No, Hephaestus is many things but to be like you and my other children is not one of them. He has a trait my mother had and your aunt Hestia has," Zeus said.

"Oh, and what is that trait?" Ares asked.

"Humility and selflessness," Zeus said.

Hephaestus appeared in front of Lilith, catching her off guard and knocked the Jeweled Sword from her hand. He thrust the spear, only for her to deflect it and slammed her fist into his gut.

Hephaestus barely budged before delivering a roundhouse kick to her head, sending her crashing into one of the houses.

"No way, he's beating her," Rossweisse said in awe. Issei nodded.

Harmonia looked on with trepidation as she watched her mother burst from the rubble and begin to trade blows with her father in mid air. Silver and violet streaks traveled across the sky, flickering in and out of existence as shockwaves shook the entirety of Olympus.

Lilith appeared in mid air in front of them with her back turned. Ares took this opportunity to kill the demon and drew his sword. He swung it at Lilith only for his eyes to widen when the sword shattered upon impact. Lilith turned her head and her eyes began to glow.

Ares fell to his knees, clutching his neck as he found himself unable to breathe.

"Pathetic. You call yourself a god with that level of power. If you're one, then what does that make me?" Lilith asked as she tightened her hold.

"Let him go!" Aphrodite yelled.

"Aphrodite no!" Zeus and Athena yelled as the love goddess ran towards Lilith with her daggers drawn. She swung her daggers at Lilith, only for the demon princess to block it with a single finger.

"You're not built for combat _my_ _lady_," Lilith said, regarding her with such disdain that she spit the "milady" title from her mouth like poison.

"Aglaia, let Ares go. Please," Aphrodite asked. Lilith's eyes narrowed and Ares found himself able to breathe once more. Lilith then drove her foot into his gut, kicking him away.

"ARE- ACK!" Aphrodite felt Lilith grab her throat and begin to crush it.

"It would be so easy to kill you. Without you, Heph and I can be together without fear," Lilith said. Athena, Apollo, and Artemis all charged at Lilith.

She waved her hand and an omnidirectional telekinetic wave that blasted them away.

A bolt of lightning slammed into Lilith, forcing her to release Aphrodite.

"Do not lay your hands on my daughter demon," Zeus said.

Lilith stood up, her clothes slightly burned and craned her neck, eliciting a popping sound. She raised her palm and an obscene level of miasma began materialize and condense in front of her palm.

"I don't have time for a long drawn out battle with you, Zeus, so I'll try to make this quick," she said as the energy in the sphere grew more and more intense.

"**Redeem Termination**," Lilith said. A massive condensed beam of darkness was fired at Zeus. The God readied his Master Bolt to intercept it when the bolt was deflected.

Lilith felt something pierce her side and saw a light lance sticking out of her torso. She pulled it out and crushed it and then was blindsided by Hephaestus, who slammed her into a building.

Lilith slowly got up only for her to get uppercut into the sky. Hephaestus appeared above her and swing his leg, sending Lilith crashing through several more temples.

"Mom… Dad…," Harmonia muttered as she watched her parents try to kill each other.

"Nee-chan, Heph," Issei watched the fight with fearful and interested eyes. He was getting a glimpse of how powerful Lilith was with this fight and what he saw so far did not do anything to raise his hopes. If anything, the fact that Hephaestus could only match her by using a weapon that's powered by the Divine Fruit.

A pillar of light burst in the distance and Lilith slowly floated into the sky. Everyone was now looking into the sky. The battle between Hephaestus and Lilith had been witnessed by everyone in the godly city.

"Lilith, I don't want to kill you," Hephaestus said.

"Neither do I but I can't afford for them to turn you into a weapon against me. I'm sorry. Maybe… maybe after all this is over, Mother can bring you back," Lilith said as a violet aura engulfed her form. The aura grew brighter and brighter as a long stocky metallic tail appeared behind her. Her hair stuck upward as her bangs grew longer. Her ears became elf-like and thin dark markings appeared all over her body. Fin-like protrusions extended from her forearms and her hands became covered in golden scales as talons grew from the end of her fingernails. Her wings grew larger than they were previously now being twice as large.

Her blue eyes glowed as she settled into her new form.

"So, you're getting serious as well," Hephaestus said.

The power that rolled off Lilith was immense, foul, and dark. Issei tried to sense her power at its fullest and was instantly thrown back. Every mind numbing fear that he had ever felt throughout his entire life was instantly brought to the forefront of his mind. Everyone else around him weren't faring much better.

"W- What is that? Her Qliphoth Mode?" Issei asked.

"No, Mom's true form. Her Qliphoth Mode is different. And like me, Mom suppresses her power," Harmonia said.

Hephaestus dropped into a stance and stiffened, wondering what Lilith would do. She began to walk towards him and then disappeared from his line of sight

He then found himself being thrown back as he felt Lilith's fist impact his face.

"Tch," he looked up and his eyes widened. Lilith was currently above him and grabbed his head and then slammed into the ground.

Lilith jumped back as Hephaestus's spear extended in length to try and stab her. She landed a few feet away from him and raised her palm, catching a ball of fire that was thrown at her. She turned and saw Apollo with his hand stretched out. Lilith narrowed her eyes before crushing the ball of fire.

As she was about to move towards Apollo and the others, she felt herself being carried into the air. She looked down and saw Hephaestus's armored fist dig into her stomach. All the air left her lungs as she spat blood from her mouth.

Lilith was shot into the air and the others watched as a red streak zoom past Lilith and slam its foot down on her back sending her crashing into the ground in front of them. They were all forced to shield their faces from the winds that blew across Olympus from the shockwave.

Above them, they heard an annoucement from Hephaestus.

**{{Sefirot Ensemble: Second Release}}** Hephaestus said. Inside of the **[Calamity Booster]**, Ddraig and Tiamat's eyes widened.

**|Issei.|** Tiamat said.

"_What is it?_" he asked.

**[That God has Ugin's and Palladia Mors' powers contained within the armor]** Ddraig said.

Issei turned and looked at Hephaestus who was hovering in the air without the need of wings. He was surrounded by a red aura that produced a suffocating pressure. His armor had also changed. Two horns jutted from the helm and formed a v shaped crest while Hephaestus's eyes gained a cross like symbol inside them.

Lilith slowly stood from the rubble of her crash site and looked at Hephaestus. She narrowed her eyes. Why wouldn't he just give up?

"Why? WHY WON'T YOU JUST STOP!?" Lilith screamed, her violet aura flaring. The rubble around her turned black before crumbling away.

"Because I love you and I won't stop until you come home," Hephaestus said.

"Hehehe. I guess I should have expected that answer. Guess we're each other's weak points huh," Lilith said.

Hephaestus stayed silent throughout her answer. He reacted immediately when Lilith appeared behind him and brought her blade down.

"Lilith, just stop," Hephaestus said.

"I can't. I'm too far in," she said as she applied more force, pushing Hephaestus down.

"No, you're not. You can still stop!" Hephaestus said, pushing back.

"You don't understand the burden I have on me. I have to kill Issei to start everything! To start the rebirth of the world! It was foretold two thousand years ago," Lilith said as she struggled to push him back.

"Screw prophecies!" Hephaestus said, breaking the deadlock. He brought his foot up and kicked her in the stomach. His eyes widened when Lilith dispersed into a black mist.

"But I have no choice but to follow it. For your sake, Harmonia's sake, Eros's sake, and Issei's sake. So you can all live in a world without hate and sin," Hephaestus's eyes widened as he saw the Jeweled Sword sticking out of his stomach. Lilith stood behind him with tears streaking her beautiful face as her blue eyes contained an endless pit of grief and despair.

"DAAAAAAAAAADDDD!" Harmonia yelled as Lilith removed the Jeweled Sword from Hephaestus's stomach. Hephaestus floated a few feet away from Lilith before plummeting to the ground. Before Hephaestus could hit the ground, Lilith caught him and lowered him gently.

Harmonia ran up to the two and looked at her mother with horror and disbelief.

"Lily…," Hephaestus said, placing a hand on Lilith's face.

"I- I'm sorry," Lilith answered.

"It's okay, I forgive you," he said.

Lilith lowered his head to the ground and turned to her daughter.

"Mom, why?" Harmonia asked.

"Your father, other than you, Eros, and Issei is my biggest weakness," Lilith said. "I can't let them turn your father into a weapon to use against me."

"But…!" she was cut off when Lilith spoke.

"There are a lot of things that you want to know. But I can't tell them to you. Not yet. When it begins, I will tell you," Lilith said. Before Harmonia could speak, Lilith vanished before her eyes.

Harmonia stared at the empty space that her mother once occupied and snapped out of it when she still sensed her father's life force. It was weak and fading but still there.

"UNCLE APOLLO!" she called. Apollo ran over to her and knelt next to Hephaestus as he began to heal him.

Apollo grit his teeth as he poured all his power into restoring Hephaestus's lifeforce. After what seemed like forever, Apollo stopped when he felt that Hephaestus was stable enough to be moved.

"We need to get him to my temple, granted that it's still standing," he said as he looked over the ruined city of Olympus.

"Apollo, your temple's still standing thank Chaos," Athena said as she limped over to him.

"Then let's go," he said, as he snapped his fingers teleporting himself and everyone else to his temple.

* * *

Artemis and the others sat outside of the operating room. Apollo had prevented everyone except for Athena from coming in. Why was Athena the only other person to go in? Well, Athena was well-versed in medicine due to the fact that she was the Goddess of Wisdom and took it upon herself to practice medicine as well. Though, she wasn't listed as a Goddess of Medicine, she might as well have because her medical knowledge rivaled that of Apollo's.

The door opened and Athena walked out and took off her mask, followed by Apollo.

"Is Dad going to be fine?" Harmonia asked.

"Yeah, but whatever Lilith hit him with, he's lucky to be alive. His armor saved him," Apollo said.

"An Enochian Weapon," Harmonia answered.

"Huh?"

"Her weapon, the Jeweled Sword, is an Enochian Weapon. It's supposed to sever the soul from the body if it strikes an area that is considered a kill spot," Harmonia explained.

"Hmmm, I'm guessing that something in his armor kept his soul anchored to his body then," Athena surmised.

"Yeah."

"You can go in but I'm sorry to say that he's in a coma right now," Apollo said.

"Wha-?"

"His body put itself into one to accelerate his healing. We can wake him up from it but… his body hasn't fully restored itself," Athena said.

"Oh. I'm going in," Harmonia said as she pushed past them and opened the door. Eros, Issei, and Rossweisse followed her in as well as Zeus and Hestia.

Artemis was about to go when Apollo stopped her.

"What gives?" she asked.

"I want to talk about what you said earlier today. In private," he said.

Artemis's eyes widened before she nodded and the two teleported from Apollo's temple and back to the forest in Delos.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" she turned to face Apollo who had his back facing her.

"Every word of it. If it makes you happy, I'll gladly sacrifice my immortality to Uncle Hades in exchange for Orion's life," Artemis said with clear resolve.

"..." Apollo stayed silent as he processed her words. Was it really worth it? To have Orion and Artemis back at the cost of his older sister's eternal life? He thought about what Orion would want. Would she be happy knowing that the woman she viewed as her older sister sacrificed her immortality to bring her back?

"I spoke to her you know."

Apollo whirled around and faced his sister.

"I spoke to Orion after her death and many times after that. She asked me why I did what I did and gave her the same answer I gave you. I thought that she would hate me and call me a cruel and possessive sister, a despicable woman, but she just smiled. Told me that you were lucky to have someone who looked out for you though I didn't see it that way. All I saw was how I realized that I just ripped away your chance at an eternity with her," Artemis said. "I don't regret losing my immortality Apollo. If it means that you're happy, I'll do it. Because… that's my job right? To look after my pain in the ass little brother," she finished. Her eyes widened when she saw tears coming from Apollo's eyes.

"Hey, don't cry!" she said as she ran over to him. Artemis began to fret and wipe the tears from Apollo's face.

"I- I don't want to lose you too Big Sis," Apollo cried.

"I'm not going to die Apollo. I'm just handing over my Godhood in exchange for her life," she said.

"But you're going to die and grow old!" he said.

"I guess I will but it's for you and her," Artemis said. "Let's go see, Uncle."

Apollo didn't even get to protest as Artemis teleported them to the Greek Underworld. Appearing in front of Hades' castle, Artemis took a step forward.

"Sis! Don't do this!" Apollo said.

"It's okay Apollo," Artemis said.

"Lady Artemis," the two turned and saw a hooded figure standing before them. She had a black bow strapped to her back and Artemis could see two strands of blue hair descending from her hood.

"Um, yes?" she said. The woman took her hood off and Apollo's eyes widened. The woman had light blue hair with long bangs that covered her forehead while two stands descended and framed her face. The rest of her hair was partially braided and reached down to her waist. Her green eyes held the ferocity of the untamed seas like her father and their uncle, Poseidon.

"Orion?" Apollo asked.

"Hello, Apollo," she said, smiling happily.

"Orion, aren't you supposed to be in the Isles of the Blest?" Artemis asked.

"Oh, right, it's been a while since you last visited," she said. Orion did a small twirl. "I'm a reaper serving under Lord Hades now! A being named MAVETH came in with Lord Hades and offered that I become a reaper assigned to the Greco-Roman Pantheon. And look at me now!"

"That's great," Artemis said.

"Thank Chaos!" Apollo said.

"Huh, why?" Orion asked.

"I was about to go sell my immortality and godhood to Uncle to bring you back to life as an apology for killing you and for breaking Apollo's love life," Artemis said.

"I told you long ago that I forgave you," Orion said.

"Sooooo," Artemis began.

"Yeah, looks like you're safe sis," Apollo said.

"Heh, I appreciate the sentiment nevertheless milady. I have to go. An Archreaper of MAVETH is supposed to meet me and tell me my duties as well as give me a tour of the Veil," she said.

"Wait, Orion!" Apollo called. She stopped and turned to face him.

"When you're done, do you wanna go grab something to eat?" Apollo asked.

"Are you asking me out?"

"Umm," Apollo said.

"Of course. I've waited an eternity for us to begin. Hey Apollo," Orion said, walking up to him. She leaned in close to the Sun God's face.

"Let's have an eternity of romance," she said. Orion planted her lips on Apollo's and the Sun God leaned into it.

Artemis smiled as she watched the scene.

"How cute."

Artemis jumped and saw a woman with black hair and red eyes standing next to her. She wore a business suit and had a clipboard and scythe attached to her hip. The woman turned to look at Artemis and smiled.

"Hello, I am Teysa, a Reaper of MAVETH, and the overseer of the lower levels of the Veil that blend into Assiah and Yetzirah," she said, introducing herself.

"Um, I'm Artemis, the Goddess of the Moon," Artemis said, introducing herself.

"Lady Teysa," Orion ran over with a red face. "I'm so sorry for making you wait!"

"It's alright. I can see you had fun. Now come, you can get with your boyfriend later," Teysa said.

"I'll see you later Apollo!" Orion waved as she and Teysa disappeared in a black mist.

"Well, that worked out," Apollo said.

"Yeah," Artemis said.

"Come on, we should go check on Hephaestus and maybe you can finally tell the Red Dragon Emperor how you feel," Apollo said.

"Wha-!"

Apollo laughed and teleported in a burst of yellow light to escape his sister's wrath.

"APOLLO!" Artemis disappeared in a burst of silver light after him.

* * *

**Omake: When Issei reminded the Archangels of their older sister**

* * *

**Azrael**

* * *

"Big brother! I'm sleepy," Lily said as she walked up to Issei. Azrael looked from the corner of her eye as Issei picked her up.

"Come on. Let's get you to bed," Issei said as he carried her.

"Can you sing me a lullaby?" Lily asked.

"Of course!" Issei said as he walked up the stairs.

Azrael's mind flew back to a moment she cherished so deeply.

* * *

_Azrael walked through the halls of the seventh Heaven looking for someone. As the youngest of the Seven, she looked like a child unlike the others, who looked like teenagers and adults. Believe it or not, Archangels did sleep despite not needing to. Finding the room she wanted to find, she opened it and walked inside. At the desk was a young woman with pitch black to red gradient wings sitting and reading a scroll. She had long waist-length white hair and sky blue eyes. She turned and smiled when she saw Azrael._

"_Az, what is it? Is everything alright?" the woman asked._

"_Lucy. I'm sleepy," Azrael said._

_Lucy chuckled and stood from her seat. She walked over and picked Azrael up and began to walk to Azrael's room._

"_Big sister Lucifer, will you sing to me?" Azrael asked as she snuggled into her older sister's chest._

"_Hmmm, sing?" Lucifer looked down at her curiously._

"_Mom said that singing was something you did with that thing called music," Azrael said._

"_Really? Mom said that. Hmm, I don't know any songs. I'm sorry Az," Lucifer said as she opened the door to Azrael's room._

"_Oh," Azrael said as Lucifer placed her on her bed. She pulled the blankets up to cover her and sighed as Lucifer looked at her little sister's face. Lucifer inhaled and began to sing._

_Shadows fall_

_And hope has fled._

_Steel your heart_

_The dawn will come._

_The night is long_

_And the path is dark_

_Look to the sky_

_For one day soon_

_The dawn will come._

_The shepard's lost_

_And his home is far_

_Keep to the stars_

_The dawn will come_

_The night is long_

_And the path is dark_

_Look to the sky_

_For one day soon_

_The dawn will come._

_Bare your blade_

_And raise it high_

_Stand your ground_

_The dawn will come_

_The night is long_

_And the path is dark_

_Look to the sky_

_For one day soon_

_The dawn will come._

_As she finished, she saw Azrael had begun to snore lightly. Smiling, Lucifer stood and went to the door but stopped when she heard Azrael speak._

"_I wuv you Big Sister," she said._

"_Go to sleep Azrael," Lucifer said as she left._

* * *

Azrael smiled. She hadn't thought of that moment in a long time. Issei walked back down and saw Azrael smiling.

"Huh, Az-nee?"

"Hmmm, oh right! So, your schedule for the next few months will be…?"

* * *

**Azazel**

* * *

Azazel walked through the Hyoudou House with the schematics for a new gear he had been creating using a combination of Issei's Miasma and Irina's Grace. As he walked past the garage, he caught sight of Issei and Mitsuki looking over the engine of Issei's Impala.

"Ne, Aniki, where do I attach the cables again?"

"To the battery. You place them here and here," Issei's voice faded out as Azazel's mind flew to a memory that he had of the time he was getting into Sacred Gears.

* * *

"_Hmmm," Azazel scratched his head as he analyzed the schematics of a prototype piece of technology his Father had decided to make._

"_Whatcha doin?" _

_Azazel shrieked as he turned and saw his older sister, Lucifer, standing behind him. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement. Amusement at his reaction._

"_Father Almighty! Don't do that!" Azazel yelled._

"_So, what are you doing?" Lucifer asked as she sat next to him._

"_I'm looking over this prototype spear Dad was making," Azazel said. "But I don't understand it at all."_

"_Hmmm, ah, you don't understand how the power is contained right?" Lucifer said as she pointed to a point on the paper Azazel had circled several times._

"_Yeah, how is he containing the power inside? As far as I know, he isn't using any enchanted runes or anything," Azazel said._

"_You see this right here?" Azazel looked at where she was pointing._

"_Yeah."_

"_That contains a special crystal from Vit'ae that emits a field to keep the metal from crumbling into nothing. Essentially, it's a Pseudo Hand of God," Lucifer explained as she pointed out the crystal._

"_Hmmm, I wanna try and make one!" Azazel said excitedly._

"_Eh?" Lucifer looked at her younger brother with wide eyes. "You want to try and make a hand of God?" _

"_What? No. I wanna try and make whatever this thing is or replicate it at least," Azazel said. "What's it called?"_

"_Father said that he was going to call them Sacred Gear and this one, the First One he was going to call the Longinus," Lucifer said as she picked up the schematic._

"_Come on sis! You can help!" Azazel said as he created a set of tools. Lucifer smiled and sat back down._

"_Now, what do you want to call it?_

* * *

Azazel smiled at the memory before continuing on his way to find his older brother's Ace.

* * *

**Uriel**

* * *

"Azzy!" Uriel said, appearing next to his younger sister. He placed his arm around her shoulder, causing her to sigh. Azrael fixed her obsidian black eyes on her older brother as he grinned.

"Onii-sama. Why are you here?" she asked.

"Aww, Azzy. That hurts," he said. His hand traveled to his chest where his heart was. "Here. It hurts here."

Azrael sighed.

"I'm here to see Issei-san and assess his training," Uriel said as he let her go.

"Oh, Issei is in the basement with Lily. They're training their powers right now since Bael and Metatron are on a date night," Azrael said.

"All right. I'll see you later baby sis!" Uriel said as he made his way to the elevator.

"For the last time! I'm not a baby Onii-sama!" Azrael called.

Uriel entered the elevator and a few minutes later, he arrived in the basement. The training grounds was at the end of the hall and Uriel walked over and opened the door. The sight he saw brought memories from the past to the forefront of his mind.

"Big Brother, can you teach me how to do that?" Lily asked as she hovered in the air next to Issei.

Issei was currently holding several balls of black energy in front of him.

"Of course! We have the same powers. You should be able to do this," Issei said as he willed all the balls to condense into large sphere.

"But what if I'm not strong enough to do it?" Lily asked.

Issei dispersed the ball and turned to her, patting her in the head.

"Of course you can do it. You're my little sister after all," Issei said.

* * *

_Uriel stood at the peak of Existence, beyond all the realms. The realm was nothing but a mass of multicolored swirls amidst a churning void. Nothing existed. Everything existed. It was a realm of pure contradiction in which everything and nothing happened at the same time regardless of all contradiction. The EIN SOF._

_Uriel clasped his hands together as an orange aura was expelled from his body and his red hair began to blow. A small sun appeared in between his hands He gasped and smiled. Finally, he was going to help create something. The sun rapidly expanded much to Uriel's joy before dispersing into nothing. He sighed and sat down, sadness radiating off him._

"_Uri. What's wrong?" he turned and saw his older sister, Lucifer, standing behind him. Her ever-present serene smile decorated her beautiful face as she sat down next to him._

"_I can't make this," he said as he created a small sun again. "I can't make it as big as the ones you and Dad make."_

_Lucifer looked at him before holding her hand out and a massive blue star materialized before them, sending light pulsing through the EIN SOF. Uriel looked on in awe as the star grew bigger and bigger before it dispersed._

"_What happened?" Uriel asked._

"_I made it disperse. Uriel, you're the Archangel of the Sun. There is nothing that I can do that you can't do," Lucifer said._

"_Well duh. Of course you can do that. You're the Morningstar," Uriel said._

"_The others can do this too but this is your job as well as mine. To bring light into Creation but you can't do it if you doubt yourself," Lucifer said as she prodded him in the chest with her pointer finger._

"_...," Uriel looked at his hands. Doubt? Uriel thought. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He threw his hand forward and created a sun that slowly grew in size. Uriel opened his eyes and saw a full fledged star in front of him._

"_See," Lucifer said as she ruffled his hair._

"_Big sis! I'm not a baby," Uriel said._

"_You'll always be a baby to me."_

* * *

Uriel watched as Lily pouted when Issei called her his baby sister.

"Just watch! I'll be stronger than you!" she said as she created a massive darkness sphere.

Uriel chuckled before making his presence known.

* * *

**Gabriel**

* * *

The Archangel of Foundation sighed as she sifted through several stacks of paperwork. She was substituting for Azrael today in watching over Eden Squad and she was in Japan to make sure Issei was okay. The time of Prophecy was at hand and they would have to face the beginning of everything. She looked out the window and saw a sight that warmed her heart. Lily ran around like an innocent child while Issei and Mitsuki chased after her.

"Come on Lily slow down!" Issei called.

* * *

"_Gabriel! Slow down!" Lucifer called as she flew after her sister._

"_You can't catch me Big Sis!" Gabriel called as she hopped from island to island. Gabriel kept running and running until she tripped and fell down. Groaning, she sat up and saw Lucifer standing above her with her arms crossed. Her blue eyes looked down and Gabriel sternly as the younger Archangel shrank underneath her older sister's gaze._

"_What am I going to do with you? Mom and Dad have been looking for you," Lucifer said._

"_Hmmm, I'm sorry big sister," Gabriel said._

"_Come on, let's go," Lucifer said as she spread her wings._

_Gabriel nodded and stood. She spread her wings and flew after her older sister._

"_Luci?"_

"_Mmmm."_

"_Do you want to go have some fun later?" Gabriel asked._

"_Of course," Lucifer said, smiling at her. Gabriel beamed and flew over to her older sister before hopping on her back._

"_Woah! You're heavy," Lucifer said as she piggybacked Gabriel on her back. Her wings strained to keep them both up._

"_Come on sis, we're going to be late!" Gabriel said._

"_Yeah, let's go," Lucifer said as she flapped her wings harder._

* * *

Gabriel laughed a little and felt bad. Somewhat. Lucifer really had to struggle to get them both there. She winced when she remembered the lecture their mother gave them on punctuality while her father and siblings stood off snickering. Snapping out of her memories, Gabriel's smiling face transformed into one of horror when she saw Risa come in with a large stack of paperwork.

* * *

**Raphael**

* * *

Raphael arrived on Mount Olympus after he had been called by Issei Hyoudou. When he arrived, he saw Mitsuki Hyoudou fussing over the state of her older brother. He smiled. It reminded him of the time shortly after his older sister fell. He had been the first to visit her. To see if she was alright.

"Aniki, where does it hurt!?" Mitsuki fretted.

"I told you. I'm fine," Issei said.

* * *

"_Big sister! Are you okay!? Your wings looked damaged!" Raphael said as he frantically checked his older sister for wounds. Off to the side, a man with black hair and black eyes and a woman with brown hair and hazel eyes stood awkwardly as they watched their older brother panic._

"_Raphi, I said I'm fine," Lucifer said as she yanked her wing from his hand._

"_Um, Big Sister, I think that you should let Big Brother Raphael heal you," the woman said._

"_Eve, I said I was fine," she said._

"_Adam," Raphael said. The man blinked and walked over._

"_Yeah," Adam said._

"_Hold her wing out," he said._

_Adam nodded and held Lucifer's black wings as Raphael began to run a diagnostic on her wings. All twelve of them. Raphael sighed in relief when he found no damages. He nodded to Adam and he released her wings. Lucifer pouted as she flapped her wings a little before retracting them into her back._

"_See. All fine," she said._

"_Just making sure," Raphael said. _

"_I can't tell who's the older sibling here. Me or you," Lucifer joked as she stood up._

"_Take this seriously. You got hurt in that fight with Michael," Raphael said._

"_Is Michael alright?" Lucifer asked as she looked at the stars._

"_Other than the fact that he's constantly asking if you're alright, he's fine," Raphael asked. He looked at the region of the sky that his older sister's gaze was currently on._

"_That entire cluster of galaxies is gone you know," Lucifer said._

"_Yeah, we saw," Raphael replied._

"_Tell Dad that I'm sorry for what I did," Lucifer said without looking at him._

"_I will," Raphael said._

"_I think I'll stay here for a while, away from all of them," Lucifer told him._

"_Big Sister. You know that they don't mean it right?" Raphael said in an attempt to comfort her._

"_Raphael, I've never been well liked up in Heaven. All of them prefer you and the others over me. It got worse after the Holy War," Lucifer said sadly._

"_They're just jealous of you. You're the strongest Angel in existence. Strongest Archangel," Raphael said._

_Lucifer chuckled._

"_Michael still kicked my ass," she said._

"_He got lucky. Said so himself," Raphael said._

"_Hmmmmm," Lucifer hummed. She reached up and pinched Raphael's cheek a little._

"_Ow," Raphael rubbed the spot she pinched._

"_Thank you for coming, little brother," Lucifer said, sending him a warm smile. Raphael smiled and nodded back. The two watched the stars together before Raphael found himself falling on her shoulder._

_He felt his sister grab his head and felt the warm soft sensation of her lap._

"_Goodnight baby brother," he heard her say before he dozed off._

* * *

Raphael watched as Mitsuki finished checking over Issei. Sighing at their antics, he walked over and began his diagnosis on the comatose Hephaestus.

* * *

**Michael**

* * *

Today was the day Michael decided to visit his Ace to check on her situation. She had been coming in and checking with Azrael for training but due to the circumstances, Azrael had been busy. Michael had promised to come to the Hyoudou Manor and teach her a few things in place of her younger sister and now here he was. He had greeted the current Prophet on the way in and made his way to the elevator when he heard a large explosion.

"I told you not to try it," Michael could hear Issei say. He walked over and saw Mitsuki and Issei covered in ash as Mitsuki stood with a sheepish look on her face and holding a bottle of antifreeze.

"Sorry, I didn't watch what I was grabbing," Mitsuki said. The hood of the car had been wrecked and Issei sighed.

"Don't worry we can fix it with magic. Then we can get to fixing the car's engine. _Without_ magic," Issei said.

* * *

_Michael stood off to the side as he watched Lucifer create star after star lighting up the darker parts of Creation. He wanted to help too. Uriel got to make stars. Raphael got to teach other angels how to use their powers. Gabriel was with their mother planting all over Eden. Azazel and Azrael were with their father helping outfit the Seventh Heaven and him? Well he had to wait until a planet was created and then put water on it._

"_Michael!" he snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Lucifer looking at him with slightly worried eyes._

"_Sorry!" he called as he flew over._

"_What's going on with you?" Lucifer asked as they entered a solar system. The planets around them were barren and devoid of water. Well, the rocky ones anyway. Michael didn't have to put water on the gas giants._

"_Why can't I make stars and planets like you guys? Why am I stuck with spraying things with water?" Michael asked as he willed rain clouds to appear on a few of the planets. One of the planets was peculiar and had winged lizard shaped continents._

"_You can," Lucifer said._

"_Really?" Michael said excited._

"_Sure, just do i- woah, wait! Michael!" Lucifer backed away as Michael began to create a massive star. Suddenly, the core became unstable and the star went supernova, engulfing the entire star system in a massive outward sphere of ionized gas. _

_Michael blinked and saw his older sister staring blankly at him. She held her arm out as if to show him what happened. Michael took a look around and saw that all the planets were gone. Reduced to atoms. He shrank and began to shake, fearing the wrath of his sister when he heard her sigh. Lucifer snapped her fingers and everything was restored._

"_Sheesh, you couldn't have waited?" Lucifer asked teasingly._

"_Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head._

_Lucifer sighed._

"_Michael. Water is important you know. Mortal beings need it to function," Lucifer said,_

"_I know, It's just that everyone else gets to do these amazing things. Nebulas. Stars. Teaching Angels, Helping Mom and Dad. Meanwhile, I just spray things," Michael said._

_Lucifer looked at him silently before reaching up and flicked his nose. Michael pouted before rubbing the place where she flicked him._

"_Don't put yourself down. You have an important job to make sure that the planets are suitable in this dimension before Auntie SEPHIRA starts seeding them with life," Lucifer said. _

_Michael nodded._

"_Now come on, let's go to the next quadrant," Lucifer said._

"_Hey, maybe you can let me create a star in a blank area," Michael said as he flew after her. Lucifer stopped and extended her pointer and middle fingers and poked his forehead._

"_Maybe next time, Michael," Lucifer said with a sly smile._

* * *

Michael smiled as he watched the two argue before Issei sighed and began teaching her the different parts of the engine. Deciding to leave them alone, Michael walked off to find his wayward Ace.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**To CrimsonDragonKnight: Thank you for the advice. I'll keep it in mind and try to do it less.**

**To Rhongomyniad: I know how you feel being the only single person in a friend group as well. *_Cries_***

**To AnimeFan0216: It is his Qliphoth Form but he won't have it mastered by the time Lilith comes for him.**

**To SkellZero: Now that would ruin what I have planned for him... hehehehehe. Sorry.**

* * *

**Well, that is it for now. I'm sorry for all of you who wanted to see Issei fight. And for everyone who's been wanting some of the OG DxD characters like Sirzechs kick demons into oblivion you won't have to wait much longer. We're almost there. We have 3 more chapters until the Endgame of this season begins.**

**For reference and to explain one more time.**

**Base Sirzechs=BBB Rank Deity Class Devil**

**Humanoid Power of Destruction Sirzechs= SS Rank Deity Class Devil**

**Anyway, I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving Break (if you're in America) and please don't kill anyone on Black Friday. You can't read my story if you're in jail. Leave a review. Also, follow/fav if you enjoy and remember to have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours.**

**PS: Tell me if the Omake should be a separate chapter in the reviews.**


	43. Qliphoth

**Way more chapters. Woop Woop! Sorry. Anyway, this is the newest chapter in the series. We're almost there. The next chapter is the calm before the storm before shit hits the fan and that means there might be a Christmas Themed Omake. This chapter also has my own take and twist on Super Devils that you won't expect. And Sirzechs will finally get what he wants. Grayfia in a naked apron with chocolate. Just kidding, you'll see.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, December 3, 2020, 10:00 PM**

* * *

Issei flew into a wall, leaving a large crater embedded into it. He heaved heavily as he slowly fell to the floor, his **[|Demon Soul|]** form dispersing. He looked up and saw Sirzechs standing before him, winded. The older man smiled and walked over, holding his hand out. Issei gratefully grabbed it as Sirzechs helped him up.

"You've gotten stronger," Sirzechs said.

"Yeah, but nowhere near where I want to be," Issei said.

The sound of someone clapping caught their attention as Bael walked into the room with a massive smile on his face.

"Good job Ii-bou! Zechs-bou!" Bael said.

"Oh, um, thank you, Bael-dono," Sirzechs said.

"Ne, shishou, what are you going to teach me today? Am I going to learn how to smite like you and Irina and the other angels and demons? Maybe learn some secret demon skills like temperature manipulation, smoke form like Lily, you know I was always jealous that Lils could turn into smoke and become completely intangible or maybe- ow!" Issei winced as Bael chopped him on top of the head.

"No, no, today, we will be learning a basic skill," Bael said.

"Um, what?" Issei asked.

"Teleportation," Bael said.

"Eh," Issei said as he looked at Bael for a good ten minutes.

"Like this," Bael disappeared without a trace in front of them and the blink of an eye. Issei felt someone tap his shoulder and he turned around and saw Bael holding a taco.

"Where did you get that?" Issei asked.

"Popped up in Mexico and grabbed one," Bael said as he took another bite. As Issei was about to speak, he was shoved out of the way by Sirzechs who got down on his hands and knees and touched his forehead to the floor.

"PLEASE TEACH ME!" Sirzechs begged. That was the sight Rias and Akeno walked into. Rias slapped her forehead as she saw her brother, the Maou Lucifer, on his hands and knees begging a man who was just barely above half his size to teach him.

"What's going on?" Irina asked as she appeared behind them. Her violet eyes saw the exasperated eyes of Rias, Akeno, and her boyfriend and looked down to Sirzechs and sweatdropped.

"Hmm, do you have what it takes to learn this move, Zechs-bou?" Bael asked.

"Yes, I do my Master!" Sirzechs said.

"Then rise my Apprentice," Bael said. "And I shall teach you the ways of the Dark Side of the Force."

"It will be done my master," Sirzechs said.

"Really? Star Wars?" Issei deadpanned from his spot on the floor.

"What?" Bael said, looking at him. "I can have two apprentices. I ain't no Sith Lord. That's Ramiel. He's a Sith Fan. Even appears like an old man so he can be like Count Dooku."

"No, no, it's not that… well, are you going to make Sirzechs-nii wear a black suit and respirator next and while having Millicas learn from someone old?" Issei asked.

"Hmmm, that does seem like a…"

"As amusing as it would be to watch my husband make the Maou wear a black suit, I'm afraid that I have some matters for him to attend to," the sound of flapping wings accompanied the arrival of Metatron. She smiled at the six occupants in the room and walked up to Bael and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Can you watch the kids for me? Onii-sama called me and _all_ the angels up to Heaven for a meeting," Metatron said.

"Sure, just drop them off here at the Manor," Bael said.

"Thanks, sweetie," Metatron said as she disappeared once more.

"That is so cool! I can't wait to learn that!" Sirzechs said.

Issei and the others looked at him like he forgot that they could teleport using magic circles.

"I can do that too you know," Irina whispered into her boyfriend's ear.

"Really?" Issei replied.

"Yeah, it was one of the first things I was taught by Raphael-sama," she said.

"Alright! Time to learn instant teleportation!" Bael said.

"Yes, master!" Sirzechs replied. Issei sighed and raised his arm and cheered pathetically.

That was harder than Issei thought it was. Bael had explained that they needed a clear sharp image, a signature to lock on to, or know-how of where they were going. Sirzechs was able to get it down in a few hours and was now teleporting everywhere on the planet, giggling like a child. He even pulled up a CC and told the Archangel Michael to go fuck himself much to everyone's shock and amusement. Grayfia, who had arrived to see and hear Sirzechs say that, pinched both his ears as the sounds of Gabriel and Azazel's laughter could be heard from the CC.

* * *

Issei had gotten it down an hour after Sirzechs and used it to teleport across the room and back to get used to it before using it for more long-distance modes. Now, Issei was sitting on the couch with Kuroka playing a round of Smash with everyone else. Lily was upstairs in her room, playing with Bael and Metatron's children while the Prince of Hell was embroiled in his match with Issei and Kuroka. The phone rang, causing Issei to press pause.

"Someone go get the phone," Issei looked around and saw everyone had a finger on their noses. Except him. He sighed and went to go pick it up.

"Hello?" Issei greeted.

"_Oh, I'm sorry. Is Akeno there by any chance?" _the caller asked.

"Um, yeah, who is this?" Issei asked.

"_It's me Baraqiel_," the caller said.

"Baraqiel-sama," Issei said. "Sorry, I didn't know that you used phones. I thought you all used magic circles."

"_No, no, it's fine. I know it's kind of surprising to hear from a supernatural being over the phone. Anyway, tell Akeno that I will be over to pick her up. I shall be training her in preparation for the coming months,"_ Baraqiel said.

Issei nodded.

"_Issei,... have strength,"_ Baraqiel said before hanging up.

Issei looked at the phone before sighing. Leaders had been telling him to stay strong and to have faith. That they would guarantee his survival. While Issei appreciated the sentiment, it was beginning to become extremely annoying. He knew that he had to push through no matter what but with who he was fighting… Issei shuddered, remembering what happened to Hephaestus. He walked back over to the couch and saw Rias and Akeno embroiled in a game of Smash. Around them, his sister and Vali were cheering on Akeno, holding a fistful of yen, while Irina, Koneko, and Kuroka cheered for Rias. Ravel was also sitting there. She had improved since Hiruko and was now comfortable around men. At least men that she knew. It would be a while before she could talk to a male that she wasn't familiar with without freezing in fear.

"Are you all betting?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, wanna join in?" Irina asked as she counted her cash. Issei looked at her blankly. He turned to Akeno.

"Akeno, your father is coming to pick you up sometime later for training. He said that he was going to train you in preparation for the upcoming months," Issei said. Akeno pressed paused and turned to Issei.

"Really? Hmm, Rias, it looks like I won't be able to join you for group training," Akeno said.

"It's alright. I was called by Nii-sama for training as well. He wants me to train with him and Issei," Rias said.

"You're training with us?" Issei asked.

"Yeah, so are Vali and Mitsuki," Rias said.

"What about you Gaspy? Kiba?" Issei asked.

"Vigne-sama has told me that she's going to take me on as a student and train me," Kiba said.

"Akasha-sama offered to train me after she found out that I was a member of the team that was helped to save Moka-sama's mate," Gasper said.

"So, everyone has someone? Irina?" Issei asked.

"Azrael-sama and Raphael-sama are going to continue training me so that I can get strong enough. They're also helping the elder angels and fallen get their bearings back," Irina said.

"That's good," Issei said.

"Is this training session good for one more?" they all jumped and saw Amatsu-Mikaboshi standing behind them. Her ruby red eyes twinkled as she gazed upon them, completely amused by their reactions. She focused solely on Issei and shut her fan.

"Issei, Bael called me here to help train you. A rather smart decision considered that I know Lilith better than anyone else except for maybe Hephaestus," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said.

"That's right Ii-bou. If there's anyone who knows Ane-chan the best, it would be Mika-sama," Bael said as he walked out of the basement with a bottle of Gatorade in his left hand.

"Bael," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said as she smirked down at the smaller demon. Bael smiled back as a heavy pressure fell across the entire room. A pinkish-violet aura surrounded Amatsu-Mikaboshi as she began to giggle maniacally. Bael began to snicker in return as a black and red aura surrounded him. The others began to move away as lightning began to crash outside. Darkness began to cover all of Kuoh and began to slowly make its way across the planet, blotting the sun out in various countries.

"Okay, you two that's enough. Seriously, Onii-chan, Mika?" Asmodeus said as she appeared in the room, crossing her arms. Her yellow eyes glowed dangerously as the two beings before her shrank in fear.

"Sorry," the two said as they stopped releasing their auras.

Asmodeus sighed. Despite the fact that people considered her a brocon, not that she denied it, she often found herself sighing at her older brother's antics. He and Amatsu-Mikaboshi had an unhealthy rivalry during the Holy War with their battle reducing the entire Circinus Galaxy to nothing. She was glad Lilith was there to stop them before their battle initiated a Total Event Collapse.

"C'mon Onii-chan. Lisara is looking for you," Asmodeus said. Bael perked up and disappeared from view and the sound of a young girl laughing could be heard up the stairs.

* * *

**Heaven**

* * *

Irina stretched as she made her way across the Sixth Heaven. A few days ago, the Seventh Heaven had been cut off from all lower angels even the Seraphim and no one could access it. No one knew why not even the Seraphim and the highest-ranking members of the peerage. As she walked, she began to think of what to do for the oncoming day of Issei's predicted death. Her violet eyes snapped out of her imagination when she spotted her teacher, the Archangel Raphael, arrive from the Seventh Heaven with a grim look on his face. His green eyes spotted her and he sighed. He beckoned for her to come to him. She complied and walked over to her teacher.

"Raphael-sama," Irina said.

"Irina. Walk with me," he said.

"What's going on? Why is the Seventh Heaven inaccessible all of a sudden?" Irina asked. Raphael paused for a moment as if contemplating his answer. Irina watched as his emerald green eyes shifted through a myriad of emotions. The tenseness in the air had grown as they walked through the Sixth Heaven and arrived at the Axis Mundi. Raphael sighed after several minutes.

"Something within the Seventh Heaven has brought it back up to the realm of A"K," Raphael said. Seeing her confused expression, Raphael spoke once more.

"The world that Heaven, the Underworld, and the other realms exist in a subgradient of reality known as Yetzirah while Earth exists in a subgradient of reality known as Assiah. Assiah and Yetzirah are separated by what we call the Dimensional Gap," Raphael said.

Irina nodded, understanding so far what was going on.

"There are subgradients above what is seen and exists and is inaccessible to most beings," Raphael said.

"Higher realms? Can they be accessed through the Gap?" Irina asked.

Raphael shook his head. "The Gap serves as the bridge between Assiah and Yetzirah. It is the reason that Rizevim believed that he could access other worlds in the endless sea of worlds known as Assiah as well as the sea of afterlives known as Yetzirah.

"The higher realms are in order from the lowest to the highest. Above Yetzirah and Assiah is a realm known as Beriah. It is the origin of all realities, where an infinite number of universes are created and destroyed all within a single moment. Above that is Atziluth. Plato refers to this as the realm of forms but in reality, it is just concepts. Everything there is formless and finally, the realm of A"K. The highest subgradient in all reality. Only a select few can survive there," Raphael said.

"And the Seventh Heaven has been pulled up to the highest realm?" Irina asked.

"Yes, we have a hunch as to who pulled it there but it's just a hunch. You don't need to worry about it but that's not why I pulled you here. I need to discuss your future," Raphael said.

"My future?"

"Yes, your future. What you do in the next year six months after Issei's death will impact everything," Raphael said.

"I don't understand. You sound like you're sure that Issei will die," Irina said.

"We are. Unfortunately, Lilith will plan for every contingency we may have and I am one hundred percent sure that she will keep me and my siblings out so you will have to face her and whatever she throws at you without our help," Raphael said.

"But, we will keep Issei alive. We have to!" Irina protested.

"On the off chance that he does die, remember that whatever happens after will solely be decided by the actions you take," Raphael said.

"What do you mean by that?" Irina asked.

"You will understand when you are presented with those choices," Raphael said.

"I still don't get it. How can my choices affect the world that much?" Irina asked.

"You will know," he said. They arrived at the training grounds of the Fourth Heaven and Raphael stopped to turn and face her. "Let's begin shall we?"

"Wait, why are you all being so secretive? Not even Bael and Metatron-sama will tell us anything. Hell, even Sirzechs-sama is in the dark on this whole situation. What is going on?" Irina asked.

"Look, just… drop it for now okay?" Raphael said, rubbing his temples. "It's not worth knowing right now."

Irina stayed silent and nodded. Raphael sighed. "Okay, now, come at me."

Irina grit her teeth and drew Hauteclere. Without warning, she powered the sword with her grace and charged straight at the Archangel.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor**

* * *

Issei slashed his blade at Bael, at which the Prince of Hell effortlessly parried his attack. Behind him, Rias fired several balls of destruction at the Prince. Bael turned and swatted the spheres away. Mitsuki and Vali appeared next to Bael and sent punches simultaneously at the demon.

Bael lazily raised his hands and caught their punches. He swung them towards each other forcing their faces to collide before tossing them aside.

"See the point of this exercise is to show me just how good you all are without your powers so Ria-tan! No PoD. Just pure punching and kicking," Bael said as he made the "come and get me bitch" motion to her. Rias's eyebrow twitched before she spread her wings and took off towards the Prince. She delivered a sloppy punch towards Bael which he lazily craned his neck out of the way to avoid. Bael raised his hand and sent her flying back.

"Rias!" Sirzechs disappeared in a burst of speed and landed a solid punch on Bael's face, sending the Prince crashing into a wall. Issei landed next to Sirzechs alongside Vali and Mitsuki.

"Okay, the first order of business is to teach the princess how to fight," Bael said as he walked out of the rubble craning his neck. Hearing a pop, Bael let out a sigh of relief. His green eyes traveled to Sirzechs and lit up.

"That was a great punch Zechs-bou!" Bael said.

"Really? Thank you Bael-d-!" Sirzechs' eyes widened as he saw Bael's fist embedded into his gut.

"Rule one: Never, ever, get distracted," Bael said as Sirzechs was sent flying across the training field.

Issei and Vali both charged with their fists cocked back. Both threw a devastating punch at Bael only for him to block both of them. The floor underneath ruptured underneath the force of their blows as Issei and Vali struggled to push the Prince back. Mitsuki appeared above Bael and was about to deliver a heel slam on the Prince when Bael swung Issei to his sister, sending them both into the air.

Bael pulled Vali towards him and kicked his jaw, sending the Lucifer rocketing across the field.

"You know. I'll let you use your powers now. I want to see you all at your strongest," Bael said, grinning a bloodthirsty smile.

He could feel their powers all increasing rapidly around the field as they began to enter their strongest forms.

In the rubble, Vali saw a CC appear next to him as he entered **{Diabolos Dragon Lucifer}**.

"_Vali, don't use Divide,"_ Issei said over the CC.

Vali raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Why not?"

"_Vali, your body can't handle the level of power you're going to Divide. Remember what happened the last time you tried to divide someone as strong as Samael. You told us that you almost lost yourself!"_ Mitsuki said.

"Fine, but what do we do?"

"_Your Reduce. Use that instead,_" Issei said.

"_Albion, did you get all of that?_" Vali asked.

**{Yes, I did.}** Albion said.

"**{Divding Fairy Wyverns}**" Vali said as he detached his wings to created two dragon wyverns. He willed them to go and attack Bael.

Bael watched as two white metallic dragons sped towards him, with the clear intent to attack. He dodged one but one of the Wyverns bit into him and he suddenly felt himself get weaker. He narrowed his eyes and he grabbed the Wyvern and crushed it.

"Hmm, interesting trick you have there," Bael said as he raised his hand, freezing the Wyvern in midair.

**{Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide}**

Bael noticed his power being drained and immediately jumped away from the Wyvern.

**[Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost] [Boost]**

Issei appeared behind him and delivered a devastating kick to Bael's back sending the Prince flying in Mitsuki's direction.

"**Moonshadow Beam!**" A violet and black beam of energy pierced right through Bael's torso.

"**New World Singularity!**" Bael looked above and saw Rias fired a hyperdense orb of destruction right at him. He soon found himself being enveloped in a black and red orb as he saw Sirzechs holding his hand out. Rias's **New World Singularity** came into contact with Sirzechs' PoD sphere and the two merged, trapping the Prince inside.

"So this is what it's like when you all get serious huh?" Bael said as he stood inside the sphere. His flesh was being eaten away bit by bit. "I guess I'll have to take you all a bit more seriously."

Bael's eyes shifted to yellow and began to glow. The Sphere containing him shattered like glass and he held his hand up. They were all blasted away by a devastating wave of telekinetic energy.

"I guess I'll have to take you out first Zechs-bou. You are the biggest threat here," Bael said as he appeared in front of Sirzechs.

Sirzechs assumed his Humanoid Power of Destruction and slammed his fist into Bael. Bael dodged and leaped back.

_He's grown stronger. Stronger than Astaroth_, Bael thought. _That power is like our Darkness._

Sirzechs appeared in front of Bael and threw a punch. Bael coated his fist in darkness and caught Sirzechs' punch. The Maou's eyes widened.

"As I thought. Devil Powers are derived from the powers we demons had. For example, the Abaddon Power of Hole is taken from our ability to open rifts in space-time. Worthless from the Belial Clan is an ability some demons have to partially remove abilities within their range so long as it is in their range and the Bael's Power of Destruction seems to be based on our Darkness. The ability to reduce something to nothing to the point where not even the atoms remain intact," Bael said as he pushed a little more power into his darkness. Sirzechs' fist was now being eaten away by Bael's darkness.

Bael smiled and let him go.

"Let's stop for now," he said.

"What do you mean when you said that the Power of Destruction is based on your Darkness abilities?" Sirzechs asked as he released his true form, returning to his normal one.

"Hmm? Oh right. Our Power of Darkness is more than just the manipulation of shadows. It acts like anti-matter, allowing us to completely destroy matter but without the release of energy akin to that of a nuke," Bael said.

"Like our Power of Destruction," Sirzechs said.

"It's safe to say that you deserve bearing Mama's name as your title," Bael said. "You are strong. Extremely so. If you were in the battlefields of the Holy War, I can only imagine that you would be as strong as most of the Elder Gods right now."

Bael turned over to face everyone else and his eyes fell on Issei. They didn't have enough time. The date of his deal was in two months and they needed to prepare him. Metatron and the Archangels seemed unconvinced and when he informed his other siblings of the situation, they seemed unconvinced as well. Unconvinced that he would survive. After all, they were all there when John foretold the prophecy over 2000 years ago. But Bael was never one to believe completely in prophecies however, this one was one he believed. But it was one he tried to deny. He had grown fond of the boy.

"All of you have room to get stronger. Red-chan, we need to teach you how to fight to use more than just magic. Some hand to hand would do you good in the event that you are faced against an opponent who can counter magic or when you run out of magic power," Bael said.

Rias nodded. He turned to Vali and Mitsuki. "You're both great however, just focus on getting stronger."

Vali and Mitsuki nodded.

"Issei, we need to train you more in the use of your demon powers. There are many aspects of your powers that you have yet to discover and even some powers that could be useful in the upcoming fight," Bael said.

"Like?" Issei asked.

"The power to exorcise other demons, turn people to dust, etc. etc," Bael said.

Issei's eyes lit up as Bael spoke.

"What about that mode that Gremory and Abaddon went into? Can I access that form too?" Issei asked.

Bael placed a hand on his chin as he contemplated Issei's words. Issei grew apprehensive at Bael's silence. His green eyes began to bore deep into Issei's soul.

"Probably," Bael said.

Everyone faceplanted at his words.

"The **Qliphoth Mode**, just so you know, is a form that can only be accessed by extremely powerful demons. That form you use, **[|Demon Soul: Abaddon|]**, right?" Bael said.

Issei nodded at his words.

"That is an incomplete version of the **Qliphoth Mode**. Your body couldn't handle the full release of your Miasma so it compensated. We'll be training you so that you can handle the full release," Bael said.

Issei nodded.

"Would you like to see mine?" Bael asked. Issei nodded. Bael motioned for them to take a step back. Everyone began to back away as a massive ungodly pressure fell on them. The room began to shake as a black and violet aura began to surround Bael. Miasma burst from Bael and began to wrap around him, forming a sphere. The sphere rapidly expanded before contracting to a small point. The sphere began to crack and then shattered. Bael stood in his Qliphoth Form.

"**Qliphoth Mode: Bael Harab Serapel**," Bael said.

Issei and the others marveled at the level of power that Bael was emitting. It was higher than even Beelzebub when they fought him.

"Onii-chan is known as the second strongest demon in existence just underneath Onee-sama," Asmodeus said as she walked in. Her yellow eyes shimmered in amusement as she saw them struggling to stand underneath the weight of her older brother's power. Bael released his Qliphoth Form and grinned at them.

"As-chan," Bael said.

"I made food," Asmodeus said as she held up a pot. "Your parents were really nice and let me use the kitchen, Issei-san." She set the pot down and opened it up. A delicious aroma wafted out of the pot and made their mouths drool. They all ran up and looked inside to see a delicious looking pot filled with chopped pork belly. It was a golden brown color with oregano leaves and black beans

"This smells delicious! What is it?" Issei asked.

"It's pork adobo," Asmodeus said. She created a few bowls and handed it to them. "You can dig in."

They all began eating and conversing amongst each other. Sirzechs kept asking the two former Princes more about the similarities between the hereditary powers of the devil clans and the powers wielded by demons. They learned that since Taint was a diluted offshoot of Miasma, which itself was essentially the antithesis of Angelic Grace, some devils ended up with powers that were similar to that of the demons. For example, like the demon Phenex, the entirety of the Phenex Clan had an innate connection to fire like her.

"That's interesting, so only high-level demons have powers of Darkness like the power of destruction," Sirzechs said. "Is it possible for Devils to evolve back into Demons?"

"I think Dantalion had a theory once. She observed you and the other two Super Devils during your civil war and theorized that you were born Demons rather than Devils which would explain your abnormally high power. We never tested this though," Asmodeus said.

"I think she's right and also, given time and training, a Devil can possibly convert their Taint back into Miasma," Bael said.

"Man, Uncle Azazel would have a field day with this," Asmodeus muttered.

"Yeah, and Dantalion would put Sirzechs under a surgical table and dissect him in the name of science," Bael added. Sirzechs shivered and made a note never to meet this Dantalion. Ever.

"Anyway, the next session, Asmodeus and I will have with Issei. Alone," Bael said.

"Huh, why?" Rias asked as she ate her food.

"This will get… intense," Asmodeus said.

"You can watch from the observation deck. What we're saying is this is more to keep you safe if Issei loses control and he exhausts his Miasma. It often results in an explosion that will completely eradicate lesser beings," Bael explained.

They nodded and after finishing their food, they all left to go to the observation deck. All except Issei who was now left with Asmodeus and Bael.

"Okay, so, the **Qliphoth Mode** is not easy to achieve. In order to use it, you have to be under intense stress. Tell me, how did you trigger your **[|Incomplete Qliphoth Mode|]**?" Bael asked.

"...," Issei clenched his fist tightly as he remembered clearly what triggered it. The words replayed over and over inside his memory.

"_I wonder how tight your sister is."_

"That bastard Lance, one of Beelzebub's Special Children, threatened to rape my sister," Issei growled.

Asmodeus and Bael stood there silently. Asmodeus had a disgusted look on her face while Bael's face remained neutral but the anger in his eyes was clear.

"So it was anger and your drive to protect your loved ones that triggered it then?" Asmodeus asked after a few seconds.

"Yeah," Issei replied.

"Hmmm, this time try to trigger a complete transformation. Your body should be stronger than it was before," Bael said. "Remember, you have to completely unleash your Miasma. Make it become you. Your **Qliphoth Mode** involves your body to 'become' Miasma," Bael said.

"Like…?" Issei began.

"Your Miasma will essentially be fully unleashed," Asmodeus said. "Your body will no longer restrict its output."

"Won't that burn my stamina just transforming and maintaining?" Issei said.

"Yes, it will but over time, you'll get used to it. Asmodeus and I as well as the other Princes and Nee-sama can maintain our **Qliphoth Mode** indefinitely," Bael said.

"So I can train to reach that level?" Issei asked.

"Yes, and cambion can reach this form. Three famous examples of cambion that reached **Qliphoth Mode** are the children of Cain. Belial, Astaroth, and Vigne," Asmodeus pointed out. The memories of Astaroth and Vigne came to the forefront of his mind when Asmodeus mentioned them.

_So, Vigne-san and Astaroth can use this form as well? That means that back in Crete, she wasn't even taking me seriously,_ Issei thought.

"So, like we said, try to completely, and let me say it again, completely transform. Not some arbitrary percentage in between. Completely and utterly," Bael instructed. Issei nodded and began to draw upon his miasma. Miasma began to pour out of Issei's entire form and began to coalesce into a wispy sphere around him. He grit his teeth as he felt the full force of his Miasma course through his entire body, engulfing all of his cells, permeating his tissues, corrupted his muscles, and consumed his organs. His body began to take the appearance of his Incomplete Qliphoth, **[|Demon Soul: Abaddon|]**. He began to grunt and struggle as he tried to release more and more but eventually, he hit a block.

The miasma sphere suddenly disappeared as Issei lost hold of his miasma. He fell to his knees, panting heavily.

"We're not going to leave until you achieve the form. You already have a base for it. That's something all other demons don't have," Asmodeus said.

"Keep going kid," Bael said.

Issei nodded and began to draw upon his miasma. This began the hours-long process of Issei trying to achieve his **Qliphoth Mode**. Asia was called in several times to heal Issei while the others delivered him food. Each time, Issei lost control and his hold on his miasma and it dispelled, retreating inside of him. He fell on his back. This had to be his what? Nine hundredth time or something? His brown eyes trailed to Bael who was currently sitting in midair while Asmodeus laid on her side.

"C'mon, keeep going," Bael said.

"Maybe we should try a different approach," Asmodeus said.

"Different… how?" Issei said as he panted heavily

"I'll be right back," Asmodeus said as she disappeared. Bael sighed as he waited for his younger sister to get back. He looked apologetically at Issei before he grabbed something from his pocket. He threw it at Issei.

He looked down and saw a bottle of water?

"What's this?" Issei asked.

"Water. From Phlegethon," Bael said.

Issei winced in pain as the flaming water trickled down his throat. He felt his stamina being restored and his internal wounds from constant miasma exposure to his Miasma disappeared.

They both turned when Asmodeus returned with a bound and beaten Irina. Issei's eyes widened as he got up to go and help her. Asmodeus lifted her hand and launched Issei back. She grabbed Irina by her hair roughly, causing the girl to whimper.

"Okay Issei, we're gonna do this the hard way. If you don't achieve the **Qliphoth Mode**, I will slowly and brutally kill your lover," Asmodeus said as she formed a miasma blade around her hand.

Issei's eyes widened as he watched Irina whimper. Asmodeus nicked her neck with the blade causing a trickle of blood to slowly trail down her neck.

"Issei… help me," Irina whimpered as tears began to streak down her face.

"What's it gonna be Issei?" Asmodeus said as she pulled.

"Please! Let her go!" Issei begged.

"I will. Activate it!" Asmodeus said.

Issei grit his teeth and struggled to draw more and more miasma from his core. A massive black sphere began to form around him all with one thought in mind.

_Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina. Save Irina,_ Issei thought as he forced those feelings into his transformation.

* * *

The others watched as the sphere began to increase in size. But what got to them was Asmodeus disappearing and reappearing, then attacking Issei out of the blue. They couldn't hear what she had said but that seemed to make Issei try harder.

"What's going on?" a voice asked. They all turned around and saw Irina standing behind them with a wafer stick in her hand. Risa appeared next to her with some dango. She saw a massive black sphere surrounding Issei. "Is Issei training with Asmodeus-sama and Bael-sama?" Irina asked.

"Yeah," Sirzechs said, turning back to the training arena.

* * *

Issei spread his wings as waves of miasma kept pouring out, pulsing and ionizing the air around him. His eyes began to glow red. He felt it, the miasma permeating every cell, tissue, and organ. He could do this. He could save Irina. Suddenly, Issei lost control and the miasma dispersed. Issei fell to his hands and knees, panting heavily. He looked up and saw Asmodeus shaking her head sadly and ran her hand across Irina's throat. Irina's eyes widened as Asmodeus dropped her. She began to crawl to Issei as blood poured from her slit throat.

"I- Issei…," she rasped. Bael's foot came down on her head, crushing her skull like a grape. Skull fragments and pieces of her brain splattered over his face. His eyes widened before his eyes bled black.

"_**RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**_" a black sphere of miasma exploded from Issei. Asmodeus and Bael erected a barrier around the observation deck as the miasma rushed past them. A small pillar of black and red light stood before them inside of a small crater. The pillar dispersed and the light died. Issei stood in the middle and opened his eyes. His irises were black and his pupils were demonic green. His hair had turned white and grew longer. His skin turned black while his skin turned red with black scale-like guards and pauldrons. Red energy lines on his abs and lower arms as well as both sides of his mouth running up to his eyes. Red spectral like feathered wings with talon-like hands spread widely from his back, being as long as Issei's Impala. He had two feathered horns on top of his head.

"He did it," Bael said.

"Yeah," Asmodeus added.

"You killed her. _**YOU KILLED HER!**_" Issei charged at the two. Bael and Asmodeus quickly dodged.

"ISSEI! WAIT!" Bael said as Issei fired a blast of darkness at him. Bael was sent crashing into a wall.

Asmodeus looked at Issei apprehensively before snapping her fingers. Irina's body vanished as Issei charged at Asmodeus. Asmodeus raised her hand and caught Issei's punch. Issei lifted his foot and kicked her neck sending her skidding to the side and releasing his hand.

"I'll KILL YOU!" Issei summoned Ascalon and was about to cut into Asmodeus when he was frozen in midair.

"Calm down, she's not dead," Bael said, snapping his fingers. A confused Irina appeared in the training area, causing Issei's eyes to widen. "We needed something to trigger you so we made an illusion," the Demon explained.

"Irina," Issei dispersed his form and ran over, hugging her tightly. Irina blinked and looked down at her crying boyfriend. She began to rub his back soothingly.

"Sorry Issei, it was the only way to push you," Asmodeus said. "At least, the only one that produced immediate results."

Issei separated from Irina and wiped his eyes. He walked over and socked Asmodeus in the shoulder.

"I deserved that," she said as she rubbed her arm.

"That was a dick move," Issei said as he crossed his arms.

"We know," Bael said.

"But, I'm glad that you didn't really… you know," Issei said.

"We would never do something like that. We're married ourselves Issei. In the traditions of angels and demons, bonded partners are married or did Onee-sama leave that little bit out?" Bael said.

"Umm, how did you know that Onee-chan told me about the Bond?" Issei asked.

"Who else would have told you?" Asmodeus asked.

"I'm confused. What happened?" Irina asked.

"They made an illusion of them killing you to trigger a transformation," Issei said.

"Dick move," she said.

"We know," the two demons said.

"So, Issei, what are you going to call it?" Asmodeus asked.

"Shishou's **Qliphoth Mode **is called Bael Harab Serapel, right? What's yours called?" Issei asked.

"Asmodeus Golachab," Asmodeus answered.

"Hmm," Issei began to think. The cogs inside his head began to turn as his mind began to run through many names. Ddraig and Tiamat had even begun suggesting names.

**|Issei Abaddon?|** Tiamat suggested.

**[No, no, it's too much like Abaddon. Issei… Pazuzu?]** Ddraig suggested.

"_Ummm, Pazuzu? What about-!"_

**[|Issei Apollyon!|]** the two dragons suggested.

"_No, I was going to go with Issei Cathariel_," Issei replied.

**[Cathariel?] **Ddraig asked.

**|Why Cathariel?|** Tiamat asked.

"_It just fits,_" Issei said.

The two nodded and Issei spoke up.

"Issei. **Qliphoth Mode: Issei Cathariel**," Issei said.

Asmodeus and Bael nodded and smiled.

Irina beamed at him proudly as Issei manifested his spectral wings. Issei smiled. Maybe. Maybe he did have a chance after all.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**leader. dbz: Actually, she's married to Hephaestus in the mythos.**

**OechsnerC: Thank thee, my good sir!**

**SkellZero: Welp, I did. I was actually planning to anyway by this time that Sirzechs would go and try to learn instant teleportation from someone, might as well give Sirzechs an upgrade too since he is my favorite of the Four Satans. If ya'll thought it was Serafall, you're all wrong. It's the red-headed siscon since I can relate. Well, not the sis-con part my sister's as annoying as my brother someth- most of the time. Sorry for the mini-rant in your reply. It was directed at everyone despite the fact that no one... said anything.**

**18Andrew: Hephaestus won't be awake for a while. Had to take out the biggest piece against Lilith. Not the strongest but the biggest. The only one that can make her falter.**

**AnimeFan0216: Lilith is starting to realize that... people will start to learn about her and if they discover her weakness is her husband and her family, they'll use it against her. Since Hephaestus is her Bonded Mate, she took him out since he is their most effective weapon. And yes, she is being weighed down. Lilith took on her mother's position with a hidden motive.**

* * *

**Anywhoozles, that was the chapter. I do hope you all enjoyed. Cheers if you actually stuck around the very end. Like really stuck around. It really means a lot. The next chapter will be the last chapter before the end begins. Meaning that we're almost done with the season. Anyway, you know the drill by now, leave a fav if you enjoy and follow for more content. Also leave a review in the review box down below so you can make me happy and motivated to post my chapters. Have a great day/night, the choice is yours.**


	44. The Calm Before The Storm

**Ehehehehe, yeah, welcome to the only chapter where there is a Christmas scene before I inevitably rip your heart to shreds in the next four chapters following this one. The final two members of Issei's Harem will be bonded this chapter because why not? Christmas is romantic right and what better way to express that than to watch the last two girls lose their v-cards to our favorite cambion so without further adieu, let us begin!**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town, December 23, 2020, 12:00 PM; Current Time: 1 minute and 20 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

It was nearly Christmas Eve in Kuoh. Spirits were high as some of the citizens of the town had taken to the old American tradition of going from house to house and singing Christmas carols, which annoyed some of the neighbors on Issei's street and amused the others. Snow fell gently from the sky, blanketing the grass in an alabaster coating which gave off a nice sheen when the sun reflected upon it. Inside the Hyoudou Manor, the kitchen was busy as Rias, Akeno, Miki, Mitsuki, and Asia all worked tirelessly to make this year's Christmas dinner. Issei's father, Gorou, was in the living room making sure that everything was in place. They were having a Christmas party at the house this year and were going to invite old friends and family as well as the families of the girls over to the house to celebrate the season. Upstairs, Issei was preparing the rooms for the guests with the help of Irina while Rossweisse, Kiba, and Kuroka vacuumed the halls, each one taking a floor. Now, this would have been easy with a maid but Issei had insisted on not getting one as he grew up just fine without one.

Grayfia, however, insisted that she helped them set up and was currently with Gasper, Ingvild, Xenovia, and the others to set up everything needed for the rest of the party. Even Artemis and her hunters helped with the festivities even though Christmas was originally a Roman Pagan Holiday and the Church had stamped that out of history. Everyone was smiling and laughing, all except for Artemis. Her current mood was as low as the temperature outside. As she held the ladder for Thalia to go and plant more lights on the tree, Artemis began to resolve and steel herself.

_Okay, Artemis, you got this. You can tell Issei how you feel. Orion just said to jump in there_, she thought as she held the ladder. The image of her former huntress's sly smile made its way to the forefront of her mind as she shook her head. Artemis turned when she saw Issei and Irina walking down the stairs. The two were laughing at something and their interaction made Artemis. She was no fool and knew that she had to share him with four other girls but from the looks on their faces, Issei had given them an equal amount of love and did not favor one over the other despite it being very clear that Irina was on top.

There was also the nature of Issei's deal. How was she going to cope with that? Was she going to put herself out there with him just for two months of romance? Was it worth watching him die before her? Artemis shook her head. No, she had to do this.

_It's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. Cliche quote but the only good thing Aphrodite's ever said in her life_, Artemis thought. _On Christmas. I'll do it when the clock strikes twelve tomorrow._

"Issei, are you ready?" her silver eyes traveled to the newly christened Nibi no Bakeneko, Kuroka Toujou-Hyoudou as she had taken to calling herself. In public, she was still Kuroka Toujou but she added the Hyoudou whenever it was just them or if they were in the Supernatural World.

Issei nodded and the two left the house with Irina waving at the door. She closed the door and walked to the stairs when she caught a glimpse of Artemis looking at her. Irina smiled brightly at the Goddess.

"Kiana, hold the ladder for me," Artemis said as she walked to Irina. The hunter nodded and walked over and held the ladder.

"Happy Holidays, Artemis-sama," Irina said.

"You too," Artemis said. Her face became serious as she looked at Irina. "I need to talk to you."

Irina blinked and looked at the Moon Goddess. She saw the look in her eyes and nodded. Irina motioned for her to follow and the two walked up the stairs to Issei's room.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Irina asked as they entered Issei's room. Artemis closed the door behind her and stood before the Angel.

"I want to know if it's okay with you for me to be in a relationship with Issei," Artemis said.

Irina looked at her with an unreadable look on her face. Such a look made Artemis uncomfortable as she shifted nervously in her spot.

_How can she make me uncomfortable!? I'm a Goddess!_ Artemis thought. After a few minutes of tense silence, Irina finally spoke.

"You're not going to castrate him or anything right?" Irina asked.

"What? No!" Artemis said.

"Oh, good. I want children you know," Irina said, smiling.

"Oh. Was that all you were worried about?" Artemis asked.

"Yup," Irina answered.

"Okay, so I'm going to do it on Christmas Eve," Artemis said.

"Ooh, romantic," Irina gushed.

"Thanks, my former huntress who is also my twin brother's girlfriend told me to do it then," Artemis said.

"That's great! Though if I may give some advice," Irina said.

"Go on," Artemis said.

"Be aggressive. Issei's kinda dense," Irina advised. Artemis nodded.

"Lay on the charm. Use your womanly assets to your advantage," Irina said as she gestured to Artemis.

"You just gestured to all of me," Artemis said indignantly.

"Yup," Irina said, smiling

* * *

Issei and Kuroka walked the streets of Kuoh to the market. Issei's mother had told him they were running out of ingredients and he and Kuroka had been sent to go buy some. Kuroka latched onto Issei's arm, making him smile and the two entered the market together.

Kuroka walked over to the butcher's and began to look at some cuts while Issei stood next to her. He overheard some men in the store, whispering and eyeing Kuroka.

"_That is one fine bitch_," one of them said.

"_Hey, let's get her to come with us later, yeah?"_ another one said. Issei clenched his fist and began to release his miasma discreetly. He felt someone grip his hand as he saw Kuroka looking at him worriedly. Issei calmed down and Kuroka smiled. She pecked his cheek and handed him the meat she bought.

The two walked out of the store and Issei noticed they were being followed. Kuroka glanced at him and winked and pulled Issei into an alley. She whispered something in his ear and began to nibble on it. Issei placed the meat in his dimensional storage and pushed Kuroka against the wall as the two began to make out. The men who followed them walked into Kuroka moaning into the kiss as she wrapped her legs around Issei's waist. Issei pulled out from the kiss and glared at them.

"Can't you see we're busy?" Issei barked.

"Issei~," Kuroka said, nuzzling his cheek.

"Um, we're sorry?" one of them said. Kuroka had enough of this and wanted more so she got off Issei and walked over to them. She brought her leg up and kicked the guy in the balls.

"Get out! I'm trying to have a moment here!" Kuroka yelled as the image of a massive flaming tiger appeared behind her. The men whimpered and grabbed their downed friend and ran as fast as they could.

"C'mon we have more things we need to get," Issei said as he held her hand. Kuroka smiled at him and nodded and the two continued on their way.

* * *

The doorbell rang and Ingvild went to answer it to see Issei and Kuroka with multiple bags in their hands.

"We're back, nya!~," Kuroka said.

"You need any help?" Ingvild asked.

"Yes, please," Issei said. Ingvild nodded and took some of Kuroka's bags and they walked to the kitchen after closing the door. As they dropped the groceries off, Rias asked Kuroka if she could help them. Kuroka nodded and grabbed one of the aprons from the hanger and began to chop onions. Issei and Ingvild walked out of the kitchen. Ingvild looked down at her feet as they walked. She needed to advance her relationship with Issei. To get that Bond that he had with the other girls.

_Christmas. I'll do it on Christmas_, Ingvild thought.

"Ingvild, are you okay?" Issei said as he looked at her. Ingvild looked up and smiled.

"I'm fine Issei-kun," Ingvild said. Issei smiled and the two walked into the living room. He saw Rossweisse preparing to plug in the Christmas Tree.

"Rossweisse," Issei said. The silver-haired former valkyrie looked at him and waved before plugging in the tree. The tree lit up in a brilliant mix of lights.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Ingvild said.

"It's nice isn't it," Issei said.

"Yeah," Ingvild replied.

"Still not as beautiful as you," Issei said.

Ingvild's face lit up at his words she touched her cheeks. Rossweisse smiled at the sight of the two.

"Issei, are you going to bond her?" Rossweisse asked.

Issei blushed and looked away. Ingvild turned redder than possible as she looked down at the floor. Rossweisse giggled as she looked at the two.

"Aww, how cute," Rossweisse said.

The doorbell rang.

"I better go get that," Issei said as he walked off.

Rossweisse nodded and watched him go. After she was sure he left, she walked over to Ingvild and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, so some tips for tomorrow if that's what you're doing…"

* * *

**Christmas Day**

* * *

The Hyoudou House was as full as it could be. People from the Biblical Factions showed up as well as some from the Shinto, Norse, Hindu, and Greek Factions. Even the members of the Vampire Clans showed up to the Hyoudou House for the Christmas party. People found from the non-Christian Factions found it ironic that they were celebrating the holiday dedicated to a biblical figure but they laughed when they realized that devils were celebrating the birth of their former enemy's son. Issei's family members from both of his parents' sides visited and were amazed at the connections that their two children made. The two parents blushed and thanked their parents giving credit to Mitsuki and Issei… somewhat. Issei's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins had solely believed that it was Mitsuki that had brought all of this prosperity. Mitsuki ignored their relatives and grabbed her twin brother and walked away from their family members.

Artemis stood by the refreshments table, sipping some juice while Apollo stood next to her. Orion had managed to catch a break from her boss and stood next to Apollo. The two talked and smiled at each other with love in their eyes while Artemis's silver eyes scoured the crowd for someone. Someone she needed to talk to. When she spotted him, her eyes widened.

"I need to go," Artemis said as she walked away. Apollo and Orion blinked before waving goodbye.

Ingvild stood next to Rossweisse, Irina, and Kuroka shaking. She was nervous. No! She was going to do it. She was. She wasn't scared. She was the descendant of the Original Maou Leviathan. She was… she was… she was extremely nervous. Could she do this?

"Stop worrying. Just take the jump," Irina said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Satan knows I did," Kuroka said, remembering how Issei's stiff hard-

"Stop thinking out loud," Rossweisse said as she smacked Kuroka in the back of her head. She pointed at the people surrounding them. They had blushes on their faces. Kuroka looked away in embarrassment.

"Don't listen to the cat," Irina said. "Just… do your best is all I can say."

"Do my best? Is that really the best advice I'll get when it comes to having sex?" Ingvild asked.

"Yup. I can't really tell you how other than to just enjoy it," Irina replied as she drank her punch.

"Go get em, girl!" Kuroka said as she pushed her as soon as she saw Issei and Mitsuki. Ingvild stumbled towards Issei and Mitsuki from Kuroka's push. She gulped and walked over to the two conversing twins.

"Seriously, Issei, please don't mind them. They're just…," Mitsuki began.

"It's fine. It's fine. It's always been like this," Issei said. "I'm used to it."

"Aniki, it's not good to be used to mental depreciation," she said.

"Look, we only see them a few times a year. Just… drop it," Issei said.

"Um, Issei," Ingvild said. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

Mitsuki blinked at the girl's words before seeing her nervous posture. She smiled and walked off.

"Good luck," Mitsuki said. Ingvild just nodded dumbly as her boyfriend's twin sister

"Ummm, Issei, I-"

"Issei!" the two turned and saw Artemis walking towards them.

"Hey, Artemis," Issei said.

"I need to talk to you, privately," Artemis said. Ingvild bristled in annoyance. How dare she intrude upon her Issei time!

"Actually, Artemis-sama, I was going to talk to Issei first," Ingvild said, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, really," Artemis said. She sized the girl up and was confident she could defeat her in a head-on confrontation. The only time she would have a hard time is if the girl activated her Balance Breaker.

Ingvild narrowed her eyes as they flickered red for a split second. This goddess was getting in the way of her spending her private time with Issei. She knew that if she challenged Artemis head on she would lose but… maybe…

"Um guys, let's go somewhere else," Issei said.

"Yes, Issei, let's go to your room," Ingvild said, latching onto Issei's arm. Artemis's eye twitched as she burned with jealousy.

Over by the punch bowl, Irina, Rossweisse, and Kuroka watched with amusement in their eyes.

"Should we?" Kuroka asked.

"No, let Ingvild and Artemis have their time with Issei," Irina said. "Besides, there are other forms of entertainment we can watch," she said, glancing over at Mitsuki and Vali, who were dancing together.

"That's cute," Rossweisse said as she watched the two dance.

"I knew that Va-kun had it in him," Kuroka said.

"Oh, six o'clock," Irina said as she saw Lavinia walk over to the two.

* * *

Issei walked up the stairs, followed by Ingvild and Artemis. The two had been glaring at each other ever since they talked. Issei sighed. What was he going to do with this? He had seen the wink Kuroka and Rossweise had sent him while feeling fear at the smirk Irina was giving him.

"Um, so," Issei said as he opened the door to his room. He walked inside and blinked when he heard the door lock. He saw Ingvild locking the door and saw Artemis had a confused look on her face.

"Artemis-sama, why don't you go first?" Ingvild said as she sat on Issei's bed.

Artemis sighed and looked at Issei.

"Issei, I- no, Issei, ever since we met, I've felt something for you. Something deep. And over the course of time that we've fought, those feelings have gotten deeper and deeper. And now, I think- no, I'm sure that I know how I feel. Issei, I love you! I love you with all my heart and I can't think of anyone I would like to spend the rest of my life with," Artemis said. She walked over and grabbed Issei's hands and placed it on her chest.

"Can you feel that? My heart beats for you," Artemis said. She remembered the words Orion spoke to her brother. "Let's have an eternity of romance, Issei," Artemis said.

Issei was stunned. Here, Artemis, who was known for her reputation as the fiercest female goddess, was confessing to him. Her silver eyes shined in anticipation as she waited for Issei's answer.

Issei felt something in his soul stir as he looked into Artemis's eyes. Did he have feelings for her? Sure, he liked her but did he? His eyes looked into hers and he knew that he did. Issei leaned in and kissed her. Artemis felt her heart jump for joy. Issei liked her. He really liked her back.

Ingvild smiled at the two, remembering her own moment with Issei. As she did, she remembered why she was here in the first place.

"Issei, I-," the two pulled apart at the sound of Ingvild's voice. He looked at her nervous expression, wondering what was wrong.

"I want to take the next leap in our relationship," Ingvild said. She began to undo her clothes as Issei and Artemis's faces began to glow red. Ingvild now stood before Issei, covering her breasts. She looked shyly at Issei, now feeling very conscious of herself.

"Ingvild, are you sure?" Issei asked.

She nodded but as Issei moved towards her, he heard clothes being dropped behind him. His eyes bulged when he saw Artemis in nothing but her underwear.

"I- If Ingvild is doing this, then I'll do it too! I want to show you how dedicated I am to you! I am going to give you my chastity Issei!" Artemis said. Issei sighed. This was going to be a long night. Issei moved to kiss Ingvild as their tongues began to battle for dominance. Ingvild moaned as Issei began to fondle her breast. The two fell back on the bed as Ingvild began to take off Issei's shirt. Issei pulled away from her and took his shirt off.

He began to leave a trail of kisses down Ingvild's neck causing her to mewl in pleasure as Issei made his way down to her

He saw her womanhood which was beginning to leak juices. He began to lick it, causing Ingvild to yelp. She looked down and saw Issei with his face between her legs.

"Issei! What ar- hyaaa~!" Ingvild moaned as Issei stuck his finger inside and began to pump.

Artemis sat off to the side with a healthy blush on her face. She felt strange watching them. Her fingers began to slowly make their way to her panties and slid them inside. She began to rub her pussy as she watched them and moaned softly.

Ingvild was now a moaning mess as Issei skillfully used his tongue and fingers to pleasure her and she was sure that she had reached climax at least twice now. Her eyes traveled to Issei who was now over her. She saw his hard, erect cock which twitched every now and then. That was going to go inside her? Would it even fit?

"Are you ready?" Issei asked.

Ingvild nodded and Issei lined himself up with her sopping wet pussy. Issei began to slide his head into her womanhood and as he was a tenth of the way in, he thrust his way in. Ingvild was thankful that the time she spent in battle and training broke her hymen as all she felt was a pain and pleasure as she took in Issei's entire girth. She felt full.

"Are you okay?" Issei asked.

"Yes," Ingvild replied. "Let me get used to it first," she said. Issei nodded and Ingvild allowed herself to adjust. She looked at Issei and nodded to signify that she was ready.

Issei pulled out and thrust back in, causing Ingvild to moan. Waves of pleasure travel throughout Ingvild's entire body as Issei thrust in and out of her.

"Ahh! Issei! Issei!" she moaned as Issei kept thrusting. Her breasts swung hypnotically. Issei grabbed one of her breasts and squeezed, causing her to moan even more. He leaned down and began to suck on her left breast, causing Ingvild to mewl in pleasure even more.

"Issei!~ Faster!" she begged. Issei complied and began to move faster and faster. Ingvild's eyes rolled up and her tongue began to hang out.

Artemis began to pump her fingers in and out faster as she fingered herself furiously. She wanted to feel the pleasure that Ingvild felt. The look of ecstasy on her face made her jealous.

Issei felt Ingvild's pussy begin to tighten around his cock as it was coated in her juices. She was getting close.

"Ingvild! I'm getting close!" Issei grunted as he began to move faster.

"Me too! Let's do it together!" Ingvild said as she wrapped her arms around Issei's neck.

Issei moved faster and faster and hilted himself deep inside her.

"Ingvild! I'm cumming!" Issei said as he released stream after stream of cum into her awaiting womb. He leaned in and kissed her, passing on his Miasma into her and felt his soul bond to hers. Ingvild leaned in and wrapped her legs around Issei's waist as to not let any of his thick, warm semen go to waste.

The two pulled away and looked deep into each other's eyes.

"I love you, Issei," Ingvild said lovingly and kissed him.

"I love you too, Ingvild," Issei said as he pulled out. Semen began to slowly flow out of her pussy. Issei was still erect and turned to Artemis.

Her silver eyes were solely trained on Issei's still rock hard cock. She gulped and made her way to the bed.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Artemis?" Issei asked. Her answer was to push him down on the bed. Ingvild turned her head and watched Artemis mount Issei. Artemis took off her panties and removed her bra, revealing her breasts. While they were not as large as Rossweisse or Kuroka's, they were larger than average.

"Issei, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't ready," she said as she lowered herself onto Issei's cock. Her juices dripped down onto it and she felt herself being stretched as Issei's cock slowly start to enter her.

Deciding to get it over with, Artemis impaled herself. She grit her teeth in pain as Issei's cock pierced right through her. A few tears welled up in her eyes as she felt a combination of pain and pleasure as Issei's cock twitched inside her.

Issei reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. He kissed her and she moaned into the kiss as she began to move.

"Are you ready?" Issei asked.

"Yes, make love to me Issei," Artemis answered. Issei laid back down and Artemis began to bounce up and down.

"So hard!" Artemis moaned as she began to bounce faster and faster. Her breasts bounced hypnotically and Issei reached up and began to grope her breasts.

"Ahhh, Issei!~" she mewled as Issei began to buck his hips and the sound of flesh hitting flesh could be heard throughout the room. Artemis threw her head back as she began to move faster and faster.

Issei's cock was her new addiction as she felt it stretch her and send waves of euphoria every time it thrust into her.

"Isseiiii, I love you!" she cried out in pleasure as she began moving faster and faster. Issei grunted as he felt himself swell up. Artemis could feel it too. He was getting close.

Issei stood up, surprising her and got on top of her. He began to thrust into her at rapid speeds as Artemis moaned louder and louder. Her pussy began to erratically leak juices as Issei began to reach his peak.

"Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei! Issei!~" Artemis cried out as Issei buried himself deep inside of her.

"So warm!" Artemis moaned as stream after stream of semen filled her womb to the brim.

Issei gently began to kiss her. Artemis leaned in and the two began to make out as Issei passed on his Miasma to hers. Artemis felt a bond instantly form with Issei which she felt elated about as she felt herself connect to Issei in her soul.

"I love you, Issei," Artemis said as she pulled away.

"I love you too," Issei said.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, February 23, 2020, 10:00 PM, Countdown to Issei's deal: 27 Hours**

* * *

Irina stood on the balcony of the Hyoudou Manor. In the months since Christmas and Issei's bonding to Ingvild and Artemis, the group had become busier than ever. Various supernatural pantheons had lent their assistance and planted their forces in Kuoh, hidden in plain sight. Bael had upped Issei's training, sending him through the wringer multiple times. Azazel had completed her request and now she had something to help Issei fight.

Right now, they were holding a meeting as to the events of what will happen tomorrow. Tomorrow. A day Irina wished would never come. She couldn't do it. She couldn't bear to watch Issei die. But it might happen. She knew deep down that there was very little they could do to keep it from happening but…

"Irina," she felt arms wrap around her and instantly knew who it was.

"Issei," Irina said as she savored his warmth. Something she might no longer feel the day after tomorrow.

"Irina, we can't start the briefing without you there," Issei said.

"Issei, why can't we just run? Run away from this?" Irina asked.

"You know we can't. No matter where we go, she'll find us. Find me. The Gap. The Underworld. Heaven. There is nowhere in Creation that she won't find us," Issei said.

"But she'll kill you if you stay," Irina said.

"I know. I've had time to think about this but… when Onee-chan gets here tomorrow. I want to confront her… alone," Issei said.

"WHAT!?" Irina exclaimed. "Are you insane!? Do you not value your own life!?" Irina yelled.

"Of course I do! But… in the time I've had to think, I-"

"NO! Issei! You can't give up!" Irina said.

"I'm not going to. I'm going to… I'm going to fight Onee-chan and kill her," Issei said.

Irina's eyes widened. He was going to fight Lilith? This was borderline insane. None of them had anywhere near enough power to take on Lilith when they could barely take on Beelzebub in their strongest forms. Sure, they had significantly increased in power in the past year but… could they do it?

"I know it sounds crazy but I'm out of options here," Issei said.

"No, you're not. Remember what Bael-sama and Metatron-sama said? All you have to do is make it past midnight," Irina said.

"That sounds easier said than done," Issei said.

"So does killing Lilith. Issei, she's the most powerful demon to ever exist. How can we possibly stand up to her?" Irina said. Issei smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Together. Like we always do," Issei said.

"Issei…," Irina said.

"Just promise me that you won't go seeking out Lilith tomorrow," Irina said.

Issei bit his cheek before conceding.

"I promise," Issei said.

Irina nodded in satisfaction. The two stood there for a few minutes before Issei walked off.

"Let's go," Issei said.

"Wait!"

Issei froze and turned back to her questioningly.

"Just hold me for a bit longer," she said.

* * *

Issei and Irina walked into the basement where the training grounds were. The Four Maou, Amatsu-Mikaboshi, Azrael, Raphael, Azazel, Artemis, and Risa were there alongside Thor and Tyr. The teams present were Bael Peerage, Sitri Peerage, Vali Team, Gremory Peerage, Eden Squad, Phenex Peerage, Cao Cao's team, and Team Slashdog. They all turned and saw Issei and Irina walk in.

"Look who walked in," Vali said.

"Had a fun time?" Bikou asked.

"No, we just talked," Issei said.

"Yeah, get your mind out of the gutter, monkey boy," Irina said with a red face.

"Right, we're waiting for two more people," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said. "And here they are."

Bael and Asmodeus teleported into the room with serious looks on their faces. The two looked to Issei and nodded before walking over to the leaders.

"Right, so we need to get started with this. Tomorrow, Issei is going to die," Bael said.

Asmodeus slapped the back of her older brother's head.

"God, can you be more morbid?" Asmodeus said. Her golden eyes looked over the crowd and addressed them with the voice of a commander. "Tomorrow, we don't exactly know when but Lilith shall come to Kuoh for one person and one person only. Issei Hyoudou for the sole purpose of dragging his soul to Hell after making a deal to resurrect his twin sister."

"We need to plan out our defenses as Lilith will spare no expense to get Issei's soul," Bael said as he projected the entire town of Kuoh.

"We believe that she will enter the town via teleportation so we set up multiple space-time barriers that prevent teleportation in and out of the town but that also means us," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said.

"Wait, none of us can get in?" Sirzechs asked.

"No, to prevent the demons from hijacking all forms of teleportation including magic circles, we had to cut it off," Asmodeus said. "That being said now might be a good time to get more forces in here as the town will be overrun with demons."

"What of the humans?" Artemis asked.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi looked down and swept to a portion of Kuoh that was located near the mountains. "The town has been outfitted with shelters that were built during World War II after the Americans began to carpet bomb Japan. I will order an evacuation to shelters to protect the citizens of the town under the pretense of a natural disaster," she said, pointing to the shelters.

"What I'm worried about is the aftermath," Serafall said. "What do we do about the fallout? I mean, there is no way we can hide this even if we tried. Hiding Trihexa was hard enough but it was doable since Trihexa was a singular entity but this… this is a full-on invasion of an entire country. The news outlets will get wind of this and information will travel too fast for us to eliminate," she said.

"It's what she wants," Asmodeus said. "She wants to cause chaos and panic and use it to her advantage to make her next move."

"Next move?" Thor asked.

"After she's done here, Lilith will not stop here. Our niece has bigger goals than that," Azrael said, looking at Issei.

Issei looked down. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, he was sure of it.

"So she'll use this chaos to her advantage to wage her war against us?' Ajuka asked.

"Yes, this will be an inevitable consequence and if we did manage to stop it, she would just do it again," Bael said.

"This will be one of the things we need to prepare for after this. But enough about that, let's get back to what will happen tomorrow," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said. "Falbium?"

Falbium stepped forward. "Right, our main objective tomorrow is to defend Issei. Whatever the demons want Issei down in Hell for, we need to prevent that from happening. We decided to station forces in the north, south, east, and western sections of Kuoh with the rest of us staying at Kuoh Academy as our main base of operations. The North Squadron will be led by Cao Cao and will consist of his team and Vali Team. The East Squadron will be led by Serafall and will consist of Sitri Peerage and Phenex Peerage. The West Squadron will be led by Artemis and will consist of her hunters and Vali Team. Finally, the South will be headed by Asmodeus and will consist of the members of Blacklight alongside Sirzechs' peerage sans Grayfia.

"The rest of our forces will back them up with a portion of them concentrating around Hyoudou House as a decoy. Sirzechs and Bael alongside Metatron and Gremory peerage will be there to guard it to better make our decoy more believable," Falbium said.

"What about us?" Irina asked.

"Issei will evacuate to the shelter," Azazel said. "We need him to make it past midnight so we can't have him out on the field where the demons can easily spot him," he added.

"So I won't be fighting then?" Issei asked. "What was the point of all the training then?"

"It'll be our last resort," Azrael said. "In case things go south."

"So who do we have to worry about in terms of the fighters on the demons' side?" Artemis asked.

"Well other than the obvious one," Bael said as an image of Lilith popped up on the screen. "We have Cain's former apprentice, Abaddon. Samael. Astaroth. And as of recently, Bakunawa. The rest are cannon fodder except for Gremory when she activates her Qliphoth Form. Sitri and Phenex are of worry but not as much as the five we mentioned before," Bael said.

"We have them outnumbered in terms of powerful members then?" Vali asked.

"Yes, we do," Asmodeus said.

"This is going to be a tough fight, isn't it?" Mitsuki asked.

"It will be the second toughest fight of our entire lives," Issei said.

"Hmph, Lilith has nothing on our fight with Trihexa," Vali said.

"Still, we should be careful," Rias said. "We never know what she could throw at us."

"Rias is right," Azrael said. "Our enemy is more cunning than Rizevim having experienced billions of years of war that tore apart thousands of universes in the past. We are not dealing with someone with only a few thousand years of experience," she said.

"Az-nee, we need to tell them," Issei said.

"Issei," Azrael said.

"No, Az, Issei is right. We told them how we're going to fight but not why. They deserve to know why Issei is so important to Lilith and Lucifer by extension," Azazel said.

"..." everyone held their breaths at the notion. The sound of fluttering wings came into the room, revealing Metatron.

"I believe I can better explain this," Metatron said.

"We were all there with him 2,000 years ago," Bael said.

"Right. So what exactly are you talking about?" Thor asked.

"How many of you have read the Book of Revelations?" Metatron asked.

"The Book of the Apocalypse? The one that predicted Trihexa?" Rias asked.

"Yes, that same book," Asmodeus said. "A book containing all the prophecies that John of Patmos uttered 2,000 years ago before his death and the seeming end of the cycle of prophets."

"Trihexa was the fourth sign of it all beginning," Metatron said. "He was not the prophesied end but the fourth sign of it all happening. Three events have happened before him that were signals to the end. World War I, the Bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Chernobyl, and Trihexa, and finally Beelzebub's release of the demons from Hell."

"Wait," Sona said. "Those events you just uttered. They fall perfectly in line with the description of the Trumpets of Revelation!"

"Yes, and now, Lilith has advanced and activated the sixth trumpet. Her war with us," Azazel said.

"And the Seventh? Will there be a rapture?" Rias asked.

"No, there is no Seventh Trumpet. The Seventh was added to prevent panic," Metatron said.

"Then?"

"Then she will proceed to break them. The Seven Seals," Azrael said.

"What does that have to do with Issei?" Rossweisse asked, already fearing the answer.

"The minute Issei sold his soul, he became worthy of becoming it. The First Seal," Azazel said.

Everyone froze and stood in shock. They all turned to Issei who looked away, signaling that he had known this entire time.

"Issei is the prophesied Lamb of Judah," Azazel said. "He is destined to break the First Seal."

"Why don't we just kill Hyoudou here now?" Cao Cao said, leveling **True Longinus **at Issei. Irina stood in front of Issei with Hautclere pointed at him.

"Just try it!" she growled.

"Enough. Killing Issei would defeat the point. He has to be in Hell to do it," Metatron said.

"Why Hell?" Grayfia asked.

"_And so the First Seal shall be broken by the Lamb with Seven Horns and Seven Eyes in the place filled with fire known as Gehenna. And the lamb shall witness with his seven eyes, seven atrocities. Each atrocity shall break the lamb's horns and upon the seventh atrocity, the lamb shall break, his purity robbed from him. As he breaks so shall it break_," Metatron recited.

"Seven atrocities?" Kuroka asked.

"We don't know," Metatron said.

"So that's why they want Issei so badly. They need him to break the First Seal?" Irina asked.

"But why Senpai? Why not someone else!?" Gasper asked.

"Because it had to be him. The Prophecy calls for someone pure and righteous," Azazel said. "While he might not be pure in a sense, Issei's intentions were when he made that deal and his ideals have always been more righteous of all the Special Children. One more qualification is that you must have the blood of the Morning coursing through you hence why the Special Children were created. Lilith's blood was used which connects the Special Children to Lucifer hence the blood of the Morning qualification," he explained.

"So our goal is not just to defend Issei but to prevent the demons from claiming him to initiate the end of the world then," Artemis said. "Not a problem. This won't be so hard."

They all looked down. The stakes just got higher. Issei's life decided the fate of all Creation. Issei left the room after they had stopped.

"Aniki!" Mitsuki ran after him.

"Mitsuki," Issei stopped at the hall as Mitsuki caught up to him.

"Aniki, you don't need to worry. We'll get through this just like always!" Mitsuki said.

"Mitsuki, you've been a good sister and I love you," Issei said, hugging her.

"Aniki?"

"Mii-chan, tomorrow, there's a chance that I might die and Lilith will kill me," Issei said.

"What? NO! I'm not lettin-"

"Mitsuki. You are. And please don't let Irina or the others come after me. Can you promise me that?" Issei asked.

"But! NO! I'm not going to! We're no-!"

"You are. You all will."

"But why," Mitsuki asked with tears welling up in her face.

"Mii-chan, I don't regret selling my soul for you but I regret dragging all of you into this. But what everyone here is doing, it's not going to save me. It's just going to get all of you hurt or worse, killed. The only one who can save me now is me and I'm not going to drag everyone down with me," Issei said.

"Aniki…," Mitsuki said. "What do I do then?"

"You look after Lily, look after everyone. Keep fighting Nee-chan in the eve- no when I die," Issei paused when he felt someone behind them. Lily was looking at the two with wide green eyes. Tears were streaming down her face.

"You're going to die?" Lily asked, her voice breaking.

"Lily…," Issei said.

She turned and ran away.

"Dammit!" the twins cursed as they ran after her.

They chased Lily to her room where she locked the door behind her. Issei and Mitsuki arrived and knocked on her door. The sounds of sobbing could be heard behind the door. Issei had a worried look on his face as he knocked vigorously on the door.

"Lily, please let us in!" Issei said. His only response was sniffling and he sighed. Grabbing Mitsuki, Issei teleported inside Lily's room. She was curled up in the middle of her bed silently sobbing, a picture of her, Issei, and Mitsuki laying on her bed.

"Lily," Mitsuki said.

"Go away," she said.

"Lils," Issei sat down next to her and pulled her into his chest for a hug. The little girl couldn't take it anymore and wrapped her arms around him tightly and began to cry.

"Please don't leave big brother. I promise I'll eat all my vegetables, I'll do all my chores, and I'll never do bad things!" Lily cried into Issei's shirt.

Issei looked down and sighed.

"Lily, I can't make that promise… but I'll try to survive tomorrow," Issei said. "Hey Lily," he said.

The girl looked up, tears streaming down her face still. Her heartbroken green eyes looked into Issei's hazel ones, causing his heart to ache at the thought of leaving her behind. At leaving them all behind.

"Remember what I taught you," Issei said. "And always remember that no matter what happens tomorrow, I love you. These past two years of being your big brother have been the best two years of my life. I can never be more thankful for having two wonderful sisters," he said, glancing at his twin. Mitsuki had tears in her eyes as she moved towards her twin. Issei wrapped his right arm around her and held the two of them, soothing them with his voice.

"Shhh, it's okay. Aniki is here. And I'll love you two. Forever and always," Issei said as he felt the two girls tighten their hold on him. His eyes drifted to the clock on Lily's dresser.

_11:59:50 PM_

_Ten seconds_, Issei thought.

_11:59:51 PM_

Issei bade his farewells to Ddraig and Tiamat.

"_I'm sorry you two,"_ Issei said.

**[It's alright Partner. You… You were the best host I've ever had]** Ddraig said.

**|Issei. I- I have thought of you as the hatchling Ddraig and I never had. For once, allow me to say goodbye as a mother|** Tiamat said.

"_Mmm_," Issei replied. He felt the warmth of Tiamat wrap around him, making him feel loved. A mother's love.

_11:59:57 PM_

_11:59:58 PM_

_11:59:59 PM_

_12:00:00 AM_

The grandfather clock in the living room rang signifying that February 24th had begun. Irina looked at the clock and gulped. Everyone else tensed, ready for anything to happen.

* * *

**Kuoh Outskirts**

* * *

"My Princess, our forces are ready and awaiting your command," Astaroth said as she kneeled.

Lilith looked at her and over the hordes upon hordes of demons that had gathered at the mountainside outside of Kuoh Town. Samael, Abaddon, and the Demon Trio could be seen among them. Hellhounds, Spectra, Behemoths, and a few Ziz could be seen among the forces as demonic howls and screeches pierced the quiet Japanese air.

"Have our two… insiders done their parts?" Lilith asked as her blue eyes stared out over the sleeping town of Kuoh.

"Yes, they managed to get the rune keys into their barrier system but now…," Astaroth trailed off.

"Now what?" Lilith said as her blue eyes glanced at her faithful knight.

"Umm, your grace, they're demanding to be rewarded now," Astaroth said.

"Are they now?" Lilith turned her gaze back to Kuoh. "Well tell them that I have one more task for them before I… reward them," Lilith said, licking her lips as a sadistic smile appeared on her face. The demons went silent as they cowered in fear at the maddening dark aura that Lilith was releasing.

"O- Of course milady!" Astaroth squeaked before she teleported away from the army.

Lilith went silent as her gaze never left the town before her.

"So it begins," Lilith said as she stretched her hand out towards the town. The demons roared in approval as one by one, they all took off, some with their wings and others through plumes of smoke. Darkness fell over Kuoh that day. Hungry for the soul of one.

The soul of Issei Hyoudou.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**To leader. dbz: That would be interesting. Are Super Devils actually Demons -A joint experiment by Ajuka Beelzebub, Azazel, and Dantalion**

**To AnimeFan0216: It has a nice ring to it. Issei Cathariel.**

* * *

**So, this marks the beginning of the end of Issei's life. Literally. I hope this chapter was up to par with the others. I spent a while editing scenes and such as well as the lemon with Ingvild and Artemis. Issei is now bonded to all five of his partners now and he might die now. Sad isn't it? Next week is the beginning of Lilith's invasion of Kuoh and she will stop at nothing to drag Issei down to Hell and now you all know why he is being dragged down there. Issei is the First of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse and I twisted the Seals and Trumpets a bit sooo, yeah. Anyway, cheers to those who stuck to the end. Remember to REVIEW. Also leave a follow/fav and remember, have a great day/night or not, the choice is yours!**


	45. Invasion of Kuoh Part I

**Welcome to Part I of the Season/Arc 2 Finale! We're finally here. The last 24 hours of Issei's life. Will he live? Will he die? What? You want to read... okay.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Academy, February 24, 2020, 1:35 AM, Current Time: 1 minute and 10 seconds til Midnight**

* * *

_Kuoh. The town was a normal sleepy Japanese town. Not much happened if one only looked at the surface. Beneath the surface of this sleepy small town lived the supernatural. Gods, Devils, Angels, and other supernatural beings made their homes alongside the humans of this town. If things were different, Kuoh would have been an example of the mystical and the mundane living in complete harmony with each other. A utopia for the rest of the world to follow where man and god lived together once more but sadly, that is just wishful thinking. _

_For today, this innocent little town will be rocked alongside the rest of the world. Today, this innocent little town will be where everything will begin. _

_And it will all begin with the classic tale told in Genesis 4:1-16._

_A sibling killing a sibling, or in this case, an older sister killing her younger brother._

* * *

The sound of a siren blasted across the entire town, ripping apart the silence that had fallen upon it. Lights went on one by one across the entire town as its confused populace walked out of their homes.

"Do you know what's going on?" one person said.

"I don't know," the other one answered.

"Kaa-chan, I'm scared," a little girl said. The mother merely responded by picking her daughter.

The sirens kept continuing but a voice could be heard from the speakers.

"**Citizens of Kuoh! This is your Mayor Ama Yozora speaking. Evacuate immediately to the shelters. We have been alerted by the JSDF that an unknown number of unidentified aircraft have been sighted within Japanese Airspace and are on their way to Kuoh. All attempts at contact have been moot and we have been advised to evacuate the town in the event of an air raid. Please evacuate to the designated shelters. Once more, unidentified aircraft has been detected. Please evacuate to the shelters.**"

Panic began to settle in as people began to pack their things in a hurry. Cars drove down the streets causing heavy congestion on the roads. Others opted to walk to the shelters and were being led by members of Kuoh's city hall workers.

"Please remain calm and in a single file line," one of the workers called out.

On the rooftops, Rias watched the evacuation proceedings. She created a CC and initiated a call.

"Mikaboshi-sama, the evacuation is going as planned," Rias said.

"_Good. But keep a lookout. Demon sightings have been growing in number over the past hour,"_ Amatsu-Mikaboshi said. Rias nodded and cut the link.

"Rias-sama."

Rias turned and saw Akeno and Yuuto behind her.

"We need to get patrol this quadrant while the others handle the evacuation," Rias said.

The two nodded and spread their wings, flying high into the air to keep out of sight of the humans below them.

"Issei," Rias looked to the mountains where the line was headed. "I hope you're alright."

* * *

Issei stood in line with a backpack on his back and holding Lily's hand. In front of him, his parents, Mitsuki, his cousin, aunt and uncle were standing quietly as the shelter came into view.

"What do you think this is?" Issei's aunt asked.

"Terrorists probably," Gorou answered.

"But why Japan?" Miki asked.

"That we don't know," Issei's uncle answered.

"Big Brother?"

Issei looked down and saw Lily's frightened eyes. Lily could feel it just like he did. _She_ was here. That oppressive miasma signature just outside of the town. Its pressure had slammed down on Issei when he sensed it. Mitsuki could feel it as well if her stiff stance was anything to go by.

"Mii-chan."

Mitsuki turned and faced her brother. Issei grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. She calmed down considerably and leaned her head on her brother's shoulder.

"Will they be okay, Aniki?" Mitsuki asked.

"Yeah, they will," Issei said as he looked back towards the town.

"It sucks that we can't go," Mitsuki said.

"You said so yourself. I need to keep away from the field to prevent from being caught," Issei said. Mitsuki looked down and nodded.

"Issei?" the two turned and saw Motohama and Matsuda. Next to them were Kiryuu, Katase, and Murayama alongside Ichika and Houki.

"Guys, you're alright," Issei said, relieved.

"Yeah, I'm glad you're here," Mitsuki added.

"We were going to ask the same thing," Matsuda said.

"An air raid huh," Motohama said.

"Seems strange to me," Katase said. "Shouldn't we have heard aircraft by now?"

"Yeah, my cousin is in the JSDF and I called him just now. He said that there was no aircraft over Japanese Airspace other than commercial airlines," Kiryuu said. Ichika, Murayama, and Houki remained silent.

"Do you think that there's some secret government conspi-!"

BOOOOMMMM!

Everyone screamed as they turned. A massive cloud of smoke could be seen in the distance.

"Was that a…?"

"MOVE IT PEOPLE!" one of the workers said. Everyone began shuffling along to the shelter as more and more explosions went off. The sky became dark as a cloud passed over the moon.

"Stick close to me," Issei said to Lily as he held her hand. He lifted his left hand and discreetly summoned Gore Magala.

"Magala, stick with Lily," Issei said as the dragoness morphed into a bird and perched herself on Lily's head.

"Issei, let's go!" he heard his father yell. Issei picked up Lily and Magala and ran, avoiding the stampede of people around him. As soon as he got to the door, Issei stopped when he heard screeching behind him. The screams of a woman could be heard before it was abruptly cut off. Silence permeated the air before everyone began to scream.

"What is that!?"

Issei turned and saw a demon holding the corpse of a woman. Issei put Lily down.

"Lily, go to Oyaji now!" Issei said as he made eye-contact with the demon.

"Lamb of Judah," the demon said. As the demon moved towards Issei, a green energy spear pierced through its skull, killing it. Issei turned and saw one of the workers, who now sported white wings.

"Go kid! GO!" the worker said as he unleashed a hail of light spears into the sky, impaling all incoming demons.

Issei nodded and ran inside the shelter alongside everyone else.

* * *

**Hyoudou Manor, 5 minutes earlier**

* * *

Sirzechs stood on the roof of the Hyoudou Manor next to Azazel and Grayfia, watching the night sky. Grayfia gripped her husband's hand tightly in anticipation of what was to come. Millicas had been left back at Lucifer Castle during the meeting to keep him safe.

"Sirzechs be ready for anything," Azazel said.

"When do you think they'll get here?" Sirzechs asked.

"Probably- What the-!?" a flash of white light forced Sirzechs and Grayfia to close their eyes as a shockwave exploded outward, shattering every window within a fifty block radius.

Once the light died down, Azazel was gone, save for a few black feathers.

"AZAZEL!" Sirzechs said. An explosion a few thousand feet east of their location garnered their attention as Bael appeared on the roof next to him.

"An Archangel Banishing Spell," Bael said. "It was used to temporarily send Archangels away. Azrael is gone too."

"This is bad," Grayfia said as she powered up. Without warning, Grayfia formed a silver magic circle and unleashed a volley of ice at several airborne humanoids, killing them instantly.

"They're here," Bael said, drawing his blade.

"Attack," Sirzechs commanded as fallen, angel, devil, and whoever else signed up took up arms and began to fire at the demons in the air.

Sirzechs snapped his fingers, and a large black and red sphere appeared engulfing all the demons in the air, killing them instantly.

"Looks like they took the bait," Bael said as he killed another demon.

"Yeah, looks like it," Grayfia said.

"Rias, Vali, how are things on your end," Sirzechs said over the CC as he dodged the attack of a demon. Sirzechs brought his fist up, punching right through the demon's chest.

"_We're fine Onii-sama. Had a bit of trouble with some demons they called Spectra since they possessed some of the evacuees but a good exorcism did them in,_" Rias said.

"_We're fine on our end as well. Nothing major except for a couple of large hellhounds_," Vali said.

"We're doing good so far," Sirzechs said.

"Don't jinx it," Bael said. "These are just cannon fodder," he said as he smote one of them. "The real leader has yet to show her face on the battlefield."

Sirzechs nodded and took to the skies, killing demons left and right with ease. Grayfia slammed her palm down on the ground, making a red magic circle appear. Massive ice spikes burst forth from the asphalt, impaling every demon within a 3000-foot radius of Hyoudou Manor.

A pulsating noise alerted Grayfia as she answered her CC.

"_Grayfia!"_

"Azazel!" she said as she decapitated a demon.

"_Lilith used an Archangel Banishing Spell that was amped by our sister. We are currently incapable of entering Kuoh. You guys are on your own until the effects wear off_," Azazel said.

"...," Grayfia gritted her teeth at the news. So much for the assistance. Lilith got rid of that instantly.

"On your six!" Bael said as he impaled a demon that was about to attack Grayfia.

"Thank you, Bael-sama!" she said as she cut the link. Grayfia unfurled her wings and flew up to assist her husband as the two danced a deadly dance that caused the skies to rain blood.

"The last time we fought together like this was the Civil War," Grayfia said as she stabbed a demon that was about to sucker punch her husband.

"Good times," Sirzechs said as he fired off a few PoD spheres.

* * *

Rias fired a massive beam of red energy, killing all demons in her path. Next to her, Akeno zoomed past her, all eight wings released as she made quick work of the demons around her, blasting them into oblivion with her holy lightning. With the training she received from her father, Akeno was able to unlock her fourth pair of wings and thus looked more and more like a Cadre.

"Everyone doing alright?" Rias asked as she killed another demon.

"Never better," Rossweisse said behind her as she unleashed a torrent of flames incinerating a hellhound.

"Kinda ironic," Yuuto said as he stabbed another demon with his **[Enochian Release: Gram]**. "Killing a hellhound by setting it on fire."

"You're telling me," Gasper said as he ripped apart two demons that headed his way.

"Focus!" Ingvild said as she flipped over Xenovia's Ex-Durandal which bisected and disintegrated a group of demons. Ingvild's eyes turned red as she held her hands out and froze several demons in mid-air.

Ingvild snapped her fingers and several spikes made of water impaled all of the demons in her grip. She swiped her hand, wringing all the blood from their corpses and rained it down as a hail of needles killing several dozen more.

"So I think that's thirty-six which means I'm winning," Ingvild said.

"Since when we're we keeping count?" Yuuto asked as he released an energy wave from his sword, vaporizing several demons. "34 by the way."

"Since they got here," Rias said, creating a massive pillar of red light. "47."

"No fair, not all of us have AoE attacks!" Gasper said as he released a mist and began to rapidly slaughter demons. The mist faded, revealing Gasper who was drenched in blood.

"Nevermind, 46."

"Still not fair, I only have 35," Akeno said as she formed a lightning javelin and threw it, shishkebabing five demons at once. "Oh, 40."

"Damnit. I only have 41," Xenovia said as she killed another demon by stabbing its skull.

"Well, we can stop counting when- DUCK!" Rias yelled as a beam of violet energy shot past them. A thunderous explosion rocked the entire town as the group erected a barrier to protect themselves from the shockwave. Ice spikes erupted from the ground, forcing them all to take to the skies.

"Astaroth," Rossweisse said as she saw the familiar blue hair of the Ice Demoness.

"Hello again," Astaroth said as she walked into view. Her blue eyes were shining with excitement and anticipation as she eyed all of them. She grinned and they tensed.

"Turn back or we'll be forced to retaliate," Rias said, putting on a brave face.

"Yes, yes, please do. I've been itching for a good fight," Astaroth said as her miasma flared, creating a black and blue aura around her.

The group tensed, flaring their power as they prepared to fight Lilith's most loyal subject.

"Nii-sama," Rias said as she formed a CC.

"_Yes?"_

"Astaroth is here by the house!" Rias said as she dodged an ice spike. She felt blood run down her cheek and rolled out of the way as Astaroth slammed her food down on the roof, leveling the house next to Hyoudou Manor.

Akeno appeared behind Astaroth and fired a massive bolt of lightning.

Astaroth held her hand out and the lightning bolt froze in mid-air before condensing into a ball.

"Are you screwing with me?" Astaroth muttered as she held the ball in her hands. She closed her fist, crushing it and flared her Miasma, shaking Kuoh. "DON'T SCREW WITH ME! FIGHT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!"

Astaroth shot towards Akeno with her sword drawn. Akeno readied another lightning spell when Astaroth was kicked to the side, sending her crashing through the street. Sirzechs appeared in front of Akeno.

"Are you alright?" Sirzechs asked.

"Yeah," Akeno said, breathing heavily.

"Go join the others at the house. I'll take care of this," he said.

Akeno nodded and flew back to Hyoudou Manor.

"FINALLY!" Astaroth appeared in front of Sirzechs with a massive grin plastered across her face.

"I take it you're Astaroth?" Sirzechs said as he stared at her. Astaroth's breathing became heavy as a blush appeared on her face.

"You're the Crimson Satan… hehe, hehehe! AHAHAHA!" her miasma reacted violently, sending Sirzechs staggering back a few inches as his eyes narrowed. "You can entertain me right!~" Astaroth licked her lips as she sensed his power.

Sirzechs remained silent as he raised his arms and blocked a kick from Astaroth. Her grin grew wider as she pushed on his arm.

Sirzechs pushed back and grabbed her leg. He spun her around and threw her to the ground, sending dust and debris everywhere.

Astaroth dusted herself off as she stood and shivered in pleasure. "I think I'm falling in love~," she said, touching her red cheeks. She disappeared in a burst of speed and uppercut Sirzechs sending him soaring into the air.

She reappeared above him and planted her foot into his spine, sending him crashing back into Kuoh.

"Hehehe," Astaroth giggled as she hovered over Sirzechs' crash site. Several red spheres caught her off guard as her arm was destroyed. She dodged the rest and kicked one back at Sirzechs.

"Tch," Astaroth glanced down at her arm which had smoke pouring out of it. The smoke solidified into bone, then muscle and vein, then skin forming her arm once more.

"Shall we continue?" her eyes widened when Sirzechs slammed his fist into her face, breaking her nose. Astaroth crashed through several houses before catching herself. She waved her hand and sent a volley of icicles at Sirzechs to which he returned with his own volley of Power of Destruction Spheres.

"Focus," Astaroth said as she appeared behind Sirzechs.

_Shit!_

Astaroth thrust her sword at Sirzechs' unprotected back. Her eyes widened when Sirzechs kicked her blade upward, sending it off-course. She jumped back as a bullet sized PoD sphere shot past her.

Her eyes narrowed and she threw her hands forward, halting a slew of bullet sized spheres in mid-air. She grinned but felt pain in her side and fell to her knee. Astaroth glared at Sirzechs who was now standing above her. Her side was disintegrating faster than she could heal.

"It's over," Sirzechs said as he readied another sphere.

"No, it's not," Astaroth muttered. Sirzechs's eyes widened when he felt something pierce his leg. Astaroth's side stopped disintegrating as the sphere dissipated and she flew into the air, her side slowly healing.

"No one's pushed me this far before~," Astaroth said as she looked at Sirzechs with an obsessed gaze.

"Well, I'm full of surprises," the Maou replied as he pulled out the ice spike.

"That just makes me want you more," Astaroth said, shivering.

Sirzechs looked unnerved. He was married for Satan's sake. And no hot demoness was going to tear him away from his hot wife. But… he dodged as Astaroth raised an ice spike from the ground underneath.

"I need to finish this and get back to the others," Sirzechs said as he began to compress his Power of Destruction into himself.

"Oh?" Astaroth quirked an eyebrow in interest as Sirzechs' power shot past hers. His power now eclipsed her own as she looked on with growing arousal and anticipation. A shockwave of power exploded from Sirzechs as Astaroth shielded herself. She felt her arm burning and saw that her arm was being corroded. She narrowed her eyes as she noticed Sirzechs looked different. The very matter around him was being destroyed with each step he took.

Sirzechs appeared as he normally did. Except his hair was now black and red and resembled flames. His eyes leaked black and red energy and his wings which now numbered twelve were made of the Power of Destruction. His eyes were now blood red as he looked up at her.

"Let's continue shall we?" Sirzechs said.

Astaroth didn't even get to respond as Sirzechs appeared behind her. Her eyes widened when she looked down and saw that her lower half was missing.

"Hehehe," Astaroth laughed as she fell to the ground. "This is going to be fun…," she muttered as her lower half began to grow back.

* * *

Vali lazily dodged as he stabbed a demon in the chest, killing it. Cao Cao seemed as bored as he was as they easily defended their portion of Kuoh from demons.

"Seriously, this is the invasion force we feared?" Cao Cao asked as he sent several demons flying with a single swing. Orange light could be seen trickling through the horizon. The sun was rising.

"I know," Heracles said as he crushed a demoness's skull.

"Something's not right," Vali said. Kuroka landed next to him, her kukri soaked in blood.

"Rias just said that Astaroth is here," Kuroka said.

"No, I mean, where are the others? Samael, Gremory, Abaddon, Sitri, Phenex?" Vali said as he killed another demon.

"Who knows? I mean, shouldn't we be glad that she didn't send them?" Bikou asked.

"But from what we've heard that doesn't sound like her," Arthur said.

"I gue- what?" Vali said as he answered a CC.

His eyes widened as he looked at the sky. A loud screech shattered the sounds of battle as a massive flaming pterodactyl dove down from the clouds and flapped its wings. A massive thunderclap accompanied the massive blast wave ripped through the town, destroying a large portion of it.

"Shit," Vali said as Le Fay erected a barrier around them.

"Ziz," Kuroka said as she looked at the beast.

"That's not all," Vali said as he glared at the figure next to it. "Look," he said, pointing Silver Empress at the figure.

"Hello kids," Samael said as he hovered above them.

"Samael," Arthur said as he looked at the silver-haired fallen.

"Guys stand back," Vali said as a white magic circle appeared in his right hand.

"Vali, what are you doing?" Cao Cao said as he barely dodged a light spear.

"You think Hyoudou was the only one who learned how to do this?" Vali asked as he slammed his palm down onto the ground. A massive magic circle that was intricately decorated with runes that encircled the image of a white dragon appeared.

"**Summoning: Albion!**"

Samael, who was currently holding off both Kuroka and Bikou, turned when he saw a massive white tail slam into him, throwing him past the barrier and into the road. Samael skidded before flipping and landing on his feet.

"Albion," Samael said as he eyed Vali, who was in his **{Diabolos Dragon Lucifer}** form. "And Fake Lucifer's descendant."

**{Samael}** Albion growled as he narrowed his blue eyes at the Fallen. **{Vali. Be careful. He still has access to his poison.}**

"Got it," Vali said as he spread his wings. Samael appeared in front of Vali and aimed a punch to take the young devil's head off only to be blocked by Albion.

**{Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide} {Divide}**

Samael's eyes widened when he felt his power being cut in half. He roared, letting out a telekinetic pulse that slammed into Vali and Albion launching them backwards.

"You'll pay for that," Samael said as he rose into the air. He raised his hands and multiple violet spears manifested behind him.

"**Take this!**" Samael turned and held his hands out as he was engulfed in a dark violet sphere that curved upwards into the air. Vali and Albion looked and saw that Kuroka was in her Bijuu Form. The sphere traveled high into the stratosphere before detonating. A massive bright red sphere could be seen in the sky as its shockwave traveled downwards cracking the glass windows and setting off abandoned cars.

"It's not over yet," Vali said as he landed next to Arthur, Bikou, and Kuroka. Samael's foul energy signature was still active.

"Le Fay, check in with the others," Cao Cao said as he threw **True Longinus** at Samael. The Seraph dodged and returned fire with a barrage of light spears, one of which nearly impaled Georg in the shoulder.

"Yes! Hello? Anyone!?" Le Fay called through the CC as she shielded herself.

"_Is this North Squadron?" _Artemis called.

"Yes, yes it is!" Le Fay said. "Lady Artemis! It's so good to hear your voice!"

"_Send out an emergency signal. We need help at our location. She-!"_

"Lady Artemis?" Le Fay called.

"_A- Bba- Ddon!" _the signal cut.

"_Le Fay, this is Falbium. We're currently being pinned down. Several Behemoths have entered alongside Gremory, Sitri, and Phenex. Serafall is engaging the Behemoths with her own! Call Sirzechs to send reinforcements!"_ Falbium said.

"Lord Sirzechs is preoccupied. The demon, Astaroth, was sighted near Hyoudou Manor!" Le Fay said as she sent a flame blast at Samael.

"_Shit… I'll call back. Asmodeus checked in. She said that she's diverting some of her forces in our direction. Any word from Kyoto? I got word before the invasion started that Yasaka would be coming here with an army,"_ Falbium asked.

"Lady Mikaboshi hasn't said anything yet," Le Fay said, shaking her head.

"_Damn… Be careful. Over and out_," Falbium said.

Le Fay stood and pointed her Enochian Staff at Samael. Her eyes glowed a pale gold as she chanted.

"**Burn my enemies! Flaming Pillars of Annihilation!**"

Samael was engulfed in a pillar of flames as Le Fay focused the spell around him. Vali appeared in front of Samael and unleashed a volley of energy blasts into the Fallen Seraph.

"Keep fighting!" Vali said as he dodged a punch from Samael.

* * *

The shelter shook as families huddled together. The sounds of explosions could be heard off in the distance. Children whimpered as they clung to their parents and the parents themselves held their children in an attempt of futile comfort as they themselves sat in fear of what was currently happening and what was to come.

"I can't believe we're being attacked," one man said.

"Is it really terrorists?" a woman replied.

"No, when I ran in here, I saw one of the people get killed by this… thing. This monster!" a man dressed in a suit said.

"You're crazy," Issei's uncle said. "Monsters? Really?"

"He's not lying," an elderly man said. "A youkai. No, a demon."

"Aniki."

Issei turned and saw Mitsuki looking down at her palm. A flashing red circle could be seen. Issei nodded and got up and followed Mitsuki over to a corner away from everyone else.

"Yes?" Mitsuki said.

"_Mitsuki, Issei_," Azazel's voice came from the CC.

"Sensei," Issei said.

"_Listen. Lilith cast a Banishing Spell that was coded to target me and Azrael. We can't enter Kuoh until its effects wear off so everyone else is holding them off,_" Azazel said.

"Is there any way we can help?" Mitsuki asked.

"_No, stay there! Just… hope for the best_," Azazel said. "_Don't worry, Risa is with you in the shelter."_

Issei and Mitsuki glanced up and saw the Youkai Angel nod at them. Mitsuki cut the link after saying goodbye to Azazel and the twins walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Risa, I thought you would be out there fighting," Issei asked quietly.

"No, Mikaboshi-sama and Azrael-sama asked me to guard you. I accepted easily. I'm your guardian angel after all," Risa said, smiling softly at Issei.

Issei smiled back at her. "Thanks for looking out for me."

"No problem, kid," Risa said.

"Big Brother!" the three looked to see Lily running up to Issei and jumping on his lap.

Issei ruffled her hair as Lily smiled at him. His eyes looked down at her and then to his sister to which Mitsuki could see the sadness inside them.

"I'm sorry you two," Issei muttered as a tear slipped down his face.

**[Partner, have hope. The day is halfway through]** Ddraig said from inside.

**|You have a chance to survive this whelp|** Tiamat said.

Issei smiled a little then tensed when he heard banging on the door. Everyone inside the shelter huddle together while some of them went over to the door.

"Someone peek," one of them said. They argued over who was going to do it until one of them sighed and began to look for a crack to see through. After seeing that it was sealed tighter than a nun's bible, they gave up and began to talk through the door.

"Who is it!?" one of them answered. They were met with a demonic roar as the banging returned. The door began to strain against whatever was on the other side as they fell back and scrambled to the others.

"Get ready you two," Risa said as her hand began to glow. Issei and Mitsuki nodded and Issei sent a discreet glance to Ichika, Murayama, and Houki. The door burst down, revealing several pitch-black hounds whose bodies let off a dark mist.

Everyone screamed as the hounds bounded over to some of them, ripping them to shreds. Blood and flesh flew over the room as the hounds feasted on those unlucky enough to get caught in their jaws.

"Umbrae," Risa said. She jumped to her feet and threw her hand out.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES!" she yelled. Having no choice, everyone complied as Risa let loose a burst of intense white light. The Umbrae noticed her gathering energy and tried to get her but they were unsuccessful and vaporized into nothingness.

"Is it over?" Issei asked as he began gathering energy to summon Ascalon. His answer came in the form of a hellhound leaping from the broken door towards him. Issei rolled out of the way and summoned Ascalon.

The Hellhound turned and jumped at Issei once more but Issei ducked underneath and swung his sword above his head, bifurcating the hound.

"We need to seal the door," Risa said.

"Got it. Lily, can you use your ice to make a barrier?" Issei asked.

"No need for that," Risa said as she waved her hand. The door levitated off the ground and moved back into its place. Risa walked over and began carving runes into the metal.

"Now they can't get in," Risa said.

"What about us?" Mitsuki asked.

"We can still get in and out if we want to," Risa said as she walked back over.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" the three turned and saw Katase pointing at them with a shaky finger. The other occupants of the shelter had moved away from them significantly and the parents were all holding their children close. Some of the men and women had picked up whatever they could if the three attacked.

"Huh? Oh, those were Hellhounds," Risa said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"H- Hellhounds?" one of the others asked.

"Long story short, she's an angel," Issei said, pointing his thumb at Risa. "And these are demons."

"D- Demons?" another one asked.

"Yes, they're invading Kuoh," Mitsuki said.

"Where do you fit in all this?" Gorou asked as he stood in front of his wife and his brother's family.

"Should we?" Issei turned to Mitsuki. She shook her head.

"Just know that we're the good guys," Mitsuki said as she turned back to the door. Issei looked at them one more time before returning his focus to the door.

"Feel anything?" Risa asked.

"Yeah, Abaddon, Astaroth, and Samael are in town. So are Gremory, Sitri, and Phenex," Issei said. Risa clenched her fist and punched a wall, shaking the entire shelter.

"Damnit!" she said.

"Wait," Mitsuki said as a CC appeared in front of them. She tapped it and Mikaboshi's voice could be heard from it. Her eyes lit up upon hearing her voice.

"Mikaboshi-sama," Mitsuki said, a smile finding its way to her face.

"_Good news. Thor has arrived with Yasaka and brought reinforcements. The entirety of Kyoto's forces alongside Tsukuyomi and Kali are here. On another note, Vigne and Tyrael have arrived with Baraqiel and the some of the Grigori's forces,_" she said.

"That's good," Issei replied. "We can push back now."

"_Don't jinx it. Lilith has yet to appear on the battlefield_," Mikaboshi said.

Issei and Mitsuki froze. Lilith. She was still off the board. For now.

"I hope it stays that way," Issei said.

"_We're not out of the woods yet_," Mikaboshi said, ending the call.

"That's good. There's hope," Mitsuki said.

"Yeah," Issei said, smiling for the first time in hours.

"Hey, you smiled Aniki," Mitsuki remarked, smiling herself.

* * *

Artemis's back hit a wall. She slid down and clutched her side. Her vision was blurring in and out and she could make out a red liquid running from her hands. Artemis looked up and glared.

Abaddon stood over her lieutenant with a sick grin on her face.

"Tell me where the Lamb of Judah is Moon Goddess and I might spare your hunters. What's left of them anyway," Abaddon said as she closed her fist. Thalia screamed as a red light poured from her eyes and mouth.

"STOOOOPPP!" Artemis screamed, tears streaking down her face as she watched her hunter get tortured in front of her.

"Ah ah ah! No. You tell me where he is or-!" Abaddon didn't finish when a yellow bolt of lightning slammed into her and sent her crashing into one of the ruined buildings. Akeno landed next to Artemis alongside Asia who began healing her immediately. Irina and the others followed as they began helping the hunters and killing off the demons.

"Lady Artemis," Asia said. "Please be careful."

Artemis nodded as she shakily got to her feet. She held her hand out and her bow flew into it.

"Thank you," she said.

"Look alive," a voice called out from behind them. The three turned and saw Vigne with two fallen angels, one of which she recognized as the daughter of Azazel, Ambriel. The other looked like the male version of her. He was slightly taller than Vigne and Ambriel with a thin build. His hair was pitch black and his eyes were dark grey. He wore a pitch-black combat uniform. His eyes lit up upon seeing Akeno.

"Well, if it isn't Lil' Akeno!" he said.

Akeno turned red as her cheeks puffed up. Only one person dared to call her that insufferable nickname. Vigne's husband and her cousin. A cousin she discovered while training with her father. Well, more like remembered. She didn't remember much of her fallen cousins after… the whole Himejima incident.

"Tyrael-nii! I'm not little!" she screamed, stomping her foot.

"You should be used to this by now. Onii-chan has always been like this Akeno," Ambriel said, crossing her arms and looking at her brother.

"Still," Akeno said.

"Vigne-san," Rias said, running over.

"Get ready. Abaddon doesn't cave in easily," Vigne said as she drew her sword. Tyrael held out his hands and two swords manifested in each one. He spread his ten black wings.

Ambriel manifested Sanguine Twilight and eyed the rubble in which Abaddon was buried under.

A red pillar of light shot into the sky and pushed them all back. The rubble disintegrated, revealing a slightly singed Abaddon standing in the middle of a shallow crater.

"Vigne. Ooh, you brought your little boy toy with you. How exciting," Abaddon said as she grinned sadistically.

"Abaddon," Vigne said, clenching her jaw as a cyan aura appeared around her.

"Hehe, he!" Abaddon giggled as she summoned her sword and pointed it at Vigne.

"It'll just be like that time during the Civil War, won't it?" Abaddon said with an insane glint in her eyes.

"You bitch!" Vigne appeared in front of Abaddon and planted her boot in her jaw. Abaddon was sent rocketing into the air. Tyrael appeared behind her and swung his blades, slashing her back,

Abaddon howled in pain as she crashed into the ground. Tyrael raised his hand and several hundred light spears manifested and barraged Abaddon. Abaddon saw the light spears and erected a barrier, deflecting them.

"Ahahaha! Yes!" Abaddon said. "Keep fighting," she unleashed an omnidirectional telekinetic wave that blasted everything away from her.

"Damnit!" Vigne said as she caught herself in mid-air.

"You okay hun?" Tyrael said, floating next to her.

"More or less. How about the rest of you?" Vigne said, calling out to them.

"We're fine!" they called back.

Abaddon took a step towards them but stopped when she heard it. Her orange eyes looked to the sky where a squadron of fighter jets was seen over the town of Kuoh. Her grin grew wide, threatening to split her face in half upon seeing it.

"SHIT!" Vigne and Tyrael dashed towards her and diverted her attention as the two clashed blades with the demon. Abaddon swung her sword to try and get them off her but failed as Tyrael and Vigne kicked her in the jaw simultaneously, sending her crashing through multiple buildings.

"Now of all times," Vigne said as she watched the fighter jets enter attack formation. She formed a CC while Tyrael, Ambriel, Gremory Peerage, Eden Squad, and the Hunters kept Abaddon busy.

"Yasaka. Kali. Thor. Anyone listening! There are fighter jets from the JSDF! Keep them safe from the Ziz and the other demons!" she said, sending out a multi-channel broadcast.

"_I got them_," Thor answered. She looked to the skies and saw the Ziz Bird that was heading for the jets get struck down by lightning. She sighed in relief when Thor flew next to the jets.

Thor eyed one of the pilots and waved before swinging his hammer at a demon that was heading to the jets. He flew off as the jets broke formation and flew off.

"They're getting reinforcements I presume," Thor said over his CC.

"_Let them… it's not like we can stop this anyway. We got video feed from those who didn't make it to the shelters spreading through social media like wildfire,_" Mikaboshi said.

"_Not an ideal way for humans to reconnect with the supernatural,_" Kali said. Thor looked down and saw a horde of demons become engulfed in a white sphere of energy.

"_We'll deal with this later. Right now, we have to beat them back,_" Mikaboshi said.

"Easier said than done," Thor said as he dived bombed and cleared out the demons around Tsukuyomi and Yasaka.

"Hey Hammer Head," Tsukuyomi said as she sliced a demon in half. "Come here often?"

"Yeah, you?" Thor said, crushing another demon's skull. He grabbed a hellhound that had attempted to pounce on him and threw him into the air. Yasaka's massive jaws bit down on the hellhound killing it. She moved her tails, positioning the tips just in front of her snout and blue and red energy began to form and collect together. She roared and fired it, decimating several Ziz and demons that were airborne. The explosion lit up the sky as a shockwave of nuclear proportions split apart the clouds. It was a miracle that Kuoh wasn't flattened yet.

"We're doing fine," Thor said as he swung Mjolnir killing another demon.

"**Don't jinx us, Thor-dono**," Yasaka said as she swiped her tail, creating a massive twister that swept up all the demons in its path.

* * *

The sound of helicopters caught their ears as the Gods, Angels, and Devils looked to the skies and saw that the fighter jets had returned with several military transport helicopters. Around them were news copters that were brave enough to follow them into the fray.

Mikaboshi looked out her window and motioned to one of the devils stationed inside her office.

"Turn on the TV," she said as her ruby red eyes gazed at the military. She looked at her watch.

_2:00 PM_

"_We are here live with the JSDF after video footage of monsters in the town of Kuoh were spreading like wildfire over the internet. At first, the generals thought they were hoaxes until 6:59 AM. A massive explosion larger than any nuclear bomb ever tested. We- WHAT IS THAT!?"_

Mikaboshi glanced at the TV as the cameraman caught a shot of a Ziz Bird heading for the news copter. Gunshots and explosions were heard as the jets let loose their 20mm guns on the supernatural beings below.

"They're firing on us, Mikaboshi-sama," the angel said. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I know," she said.

"_Mikaboshi!_"

The Goddess opened her eyes and turned to see a projection of Sirzechs.

"_The humans are firing on us. We need to make them see that we're on their side!_"

"You know that the bullets can't kill you right?" she asked.

"_I know but… nevermind that, we captured Astaroth_," Sirzechs said.

"That's great!" Mikaboshi said. _Finally, more good news_, she thought.

"Good, I shall join you out there and speak with the general sent here," she said as she eyed the helicopter that landed on top of the Academy.

"_Right!_"

Sirzechs cut the link and Mikaboshi began to walk to the door.

"I'm heading out," she said. The angels and devils stationed nodded. Mikaboshi walked out of the building and floated into the air before disappearing in a burst of speed to Kuoh Academy.

* * *

Major General Hideki Kobayashi was never one to believe in the old stories of Gods nor did he practice Shintoism nor Buddhism, preferring to use logic and science to explain the world around him. He enlisted into the Japanese Self Defense Force and after his training, went back to university and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. So when he was given orders to go investigate a massive nuclear class explosion over Kuoh Town with no visible measurements of gamma radiation, he jumped upon it.

What he didn't expect was to enter this. Monsters. Demons. People who could shoot fire and lightning from their hands. Hell, a goddamn Kyuubi and a Nekomata fighting these… demons.

He sighed as his men set up base camp on the roof. Every media outlet in Japan had followed his entourage here.

"Sir!"

"What?" he said, turning to the soldier before him. She was pointing at something in the sky. He looked up and saw a woman floating in mid-air. She disappeared and he reached for his pistol while the soldier had her rifle aimed, ready to fire.

"Put that down," the two turned and saw the woman leaning on the post. She was inhumanly beautiful. Long silky raven black hair. Ruby Red Eyes. She wore a black kimono.

But what they did know was that she wasn't human.

"Hello there," she said.

"Who are you?" he said calmly.

"I am Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the Shinto Goddess of the Void and Stars," Mikaboshi said.

"Goddess?" the soldier said.

Mikaboshi sighed and waved her hand, producing several violet energy spheres before dispersing them.

"What do you want?" the general said.

"I need to ask you to stop firing on me and my forces. We are currently fighting- hold on a second," Mikaboshi waved her hand and a shadow was cast over the general and his guard. They looked above them and saw a massive demonic hound frozen in mid-air. She snapped her fingers and it exploded into ash.

"Demons, we're fighting demons," she said.

"D- Demons!?" Hideki said.

"Yes so if you please," Mikaboshi said, her voice radiating power. "I believe we can come to an agreement."

"What kind of agreement?" he said.

"We tell you everything we know and you pull back to the academy. There are people we evacuated to the bomb shelters that need help," Mikaboshi said.

"Evacuees?" Hideki said.

"Yes, so please, help them evacuate," Mikaboshi said.

Hideki looked down. When they got here, their bullets had no effect on the monsters that attacked their convoy. However, their convoy was saved by a man wielding a hammer and firing lightning and for that Hideki was grateful for the safety of his troops.

"Are there other gods here?" Hideki asked.

"Yes. Kali from the Hindu Pantheon. Our own Tsukuyomi, a Kyuubi, and Thor. The biblical pantheon also sent their forces to help alongside Artemis from the Greco-Roman Pantheon," Mikaboshi said.

"So God helped us?" the soldier asked.

"Gods. The Biblical God is... Well, that's complicated. I promise to explain everything to your leaders. Just please, get the citizens to safety," Mikaboshi said.

"A God saying please. Okay. Everyone, head for the shelters located in the mountains," Hideki said.

"We'll keep them off you," Mikaboshi said. "Look for a girl with black hair and twin tails. She is the Maou Serafall Leviathan. She will keep the demons off."

"A Maou killing demons?"

"We'll explai-!"

"Yeah, you'll explain later and frankly I don't care. Those people in the shelters are more important. We'll count on you to keep them off us. Oh and, not that you'll need it but good luck Mikaboshi-sama," Hideki said, bowing deeply.

Mikaboshi smiled and nodded. She floated into the sky and froze. Mikaboshi's eyes widened as she turned and looked off into the distance.

* * *

Issei froze. He began to hyperventilate, catching Mitsuki and Risa's attention.

"Issei, what's wrong?" Risa said.

"She's coming!" Issei said, his eyes wide in fear. Risa's eyes grew wide then narrowed.

"We need to get out of here," Mitsuki said.

* * *

Sirzechs, Grayfia, Bael, and Metatron stood guard around an unconscious Astaroth. Sirzechs had beaten her into unconsciousness and captured her as a prisoner. As they conversed, Bael and Metatron froze.

"GET DO-!"

A violet comet crashed into the roof of Hyoudou Manor, forcing the four beings to shield themselves from the shockwave.

"My, my, you all just love getting in my way don't you?" an all-too-familiar voice called out, sending chills down their spines.

"N- Nee-sama," Bael said as he looked at the figure in the dust.

A massive wave of power slammed into them, pinning them to their spots. It was felt by everyone in Kuoh, human and non-human. The terror that the power itself inspired. It felt like darkness itself had descended upon their town as a massive shadow was cast over the town, blocking out the sun.

"Tell me. Where is Issei-chan?" Lilith asked as her eyes glowed an ominous red color.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**18Andrew: Don't worry no one died... yet.**

**SkellZero: You're giving me ideas for the future. Ideas that I like.**

**leader. dbz: Well, after this, the Supernatural and Human worlds are now reconnected to each other so we'll see where that goes. I'm glad you're as excited about Armageddon as I am!**

**AnimeFan0216: Not yet... not yet. Soon. But not now.**

**DanVrse: Thank you! I'm always happy to see a new reader who likes the story. As for the Endgame twist at the end, you're gonna have to wait until the Final Arc of the story. Just know that I do have a twist planned that will be as great as Tony swiping the Infinity Stones and merging them with his armor.**

* * *

**Not much to say here other than, the invasion has started and so has the battle for Issei's life. As you know the last chapter, I mentioned two saboteurs. We'll see them next chappie. And yes, Sirzechs beat Astaroth. He did. Excitement. And he also... aroused her. Heheheh AHAHAHAHAHA! Okay, I'll stop. Anyway, remember to review and have a great day/night or not the choice is yours.**


	46. Invasion of Kuoh Part II

**Well, well, well. Welcome the Part II of the Season Finale of Til Midnight. I hope you are all having a Merry Padoru Day, Happy Saturnalia, Happy Hannukah, Merry Kwanza, and so on. Anyway, I managed to sneak some time away from my family to post this soooooo... let's get ready with this story huh? **

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Kuoh Town Bomb Shelters, February 24, 2020, 2:35 PM, Current Time: 1 Minute and 8 Seconds Til Midnight**

* * *

"Aniki, calm down!" Mitsuki said as Issei tried over and over again to form a teleportation circle. Every attempt he made was met with failure with the circle fizzling out of existence. Risa and Mitsuki were subject to watching Issei fight against all hope to try and escape. They couldn't blame him. They too had felt that oppressive wave of power as did everyone in the town, supernatural or not.

"Issei, none of us can teleport in or out. We spatial locked the town to prevent demons from teleporting in and did so to ourselves to prevent them from hijacking our circles," Risa said.

"DAMNIT!" Issei bashed his fist on the ground, shaking the entire room and sending spiderweb cracks all over the ground.

"Big Brother…"

Issei turned and saw Lily hiding behind Mitsuki, clutching Magala close to her. His face softened as he sat down on the floor.

"I'm sorry I scared you Lils," Issei said, hanging his head in shame.

"Issei, you need to stay calm. There's hope. Mikaboshi-sama said that the JSDF is coming to the shelter to bring everyone out of Kuoh," Risa said.

"That's good," Issei said.

"Yes, but we need to wait for them. They have to fight through demons and are currently being escorted by Serafall-sama alongside the others who came here to fight," Risa said.

"Let's just get out of here once they do," Issei said. He looked at his watch.

_4:30 PM_

"I still have seven and a half hours," Issei said.

"That's a lot of time," Risa said.

"It isn't for them," Issei said.

* * *

**Kuoh**

* * *

Lilith stood silently across from Sirzechs, Bael, Metatron, and Grayfia, locking the four of them in place with her steely gaze. Her eyes hardened as she began to speak once more.

"I'll ask one more time. Where. Is. Issei-chan?" she said.

"We're not telling you," Sirzechs said.

"Oh, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then," Lilith said as she took a step forward.

"Save Lucifer-sama!"

Lilith turned around at the sound of battle cries. A large number of devils had surrounded the house, each one of them preparing their spells to fire on Lilith. The Demon Princess quirked an eyebrow in amusement as they fired the spells. She stood there and allowed the spells to hit her.

As she did, her grip on the four loosened, allowing them to flee the blast zone. A thunderous explosion blasted apart the roof of the Hyoudou Manor and shook the entire block.

The smoke cleared and their eyes widened in shock and fear when Lilith merely floated in mid-air, completely unscathed from the combined force of the spells.

"Are you done?" Lilith asked.

The devils all backed away in fear, not wanting to answer this monster that stood before them.

"My turn."

Sirzechs and Grayfia watched in horror as Lilith flickered out of existence and reappeared several feet behind the group of devils. Blood exploded from them, raining onto the street and causing them to flow red as the devils dropped dead.

Lilith turned to face Sirzechs, Grayfia, Bael, and Metatron.

"The same thing will happen to you but much slower if you don't tell me where my little brother is right now," Lilith said as her eyes began to glow.

"Go."

"Bael-sama?" Grayfia said, looking at him incredulously.

"Bael," Metatron said.

"I'll hold her off. Go find Mikaboshi and go!" Bael said as he began to power up.

"Well?" Lilith said. Her eyes widened when Bael appeared in front of her and delivered a devastating roundhouse to her jaw, sending her crashing through several buildings.

"Go find Issei and run. NOW!" Bael roared at them.

"I'm staying with you," Metatron said.

"But-!"

"No ifs, buts, or coconuts," Metatron said as she summoned a clay tablet.

"Hmph. I guess that works," Bael said as he saw his wife power up.

"The Angel Tablet."

Lilith burst from the rubble, several thousand feet away and rose into the air.

"Unfortunately, in your weakened state, it won't be of much help as it was when you were at full power, Metatron," Lilith said.

"We'll see about that," Metatron said as she began to gather light into her palms.

A swirl of Miasma surrounded Bael before dispersing.

"**Qliphoth Mode: Bael Harab Serapel!**" Bael said as he stared down his older sister. "I can't allow you to do this Onee-sama."

"I see," Lilith said as she entered her true form. "I'm sorry in advance. Little Brother."

Bael summoned his sword and raised it to block Lilith's blade as it descended towards him.

Metatron fired a light blast, sending Lilith flying. The demoness caught herself in midair and fired a blast of darkness at Metatron. Bael appeared in front of the blast and reflected the attack right back at Lilith.

"I see that your teamwork hasn't dulled in the last million years," Lilith said as she casually deflected the attack.

"No, it hasn't," Bael said as he summoned black fire. He stretched his palm out and unleashed a massive spiral of black flames at Lilith. Metatron threw her hand forward and let loose a torrent of white fire. The two flames merged and spiraled together towards the Demon Princess.

"This'll be fun," Lilith said as she raised her palm in front of her. A massive jet of violet flames was expelled from her hand and collided with Metatron and Bael's. The collision sent tremors reverberating throughout all of Kuoh and to the rest of Japan.

* * *

Everyone in the town stopped fighting to see two jets of flames fighting for dominance.

"So that's Lilith?" Rias asked as she stared up at the battle.

"Yeah," Vigne said as she landed next to her.

* * *

Samael blocked Vali's sword and kicked him away. The ground shook and a sudden wave of heat caused him to look up. He smirked.

"So you finally decide to do something," Samael muttered.

Vali noticed Samael looking at the sky. He looked up and his eyes widened. Lilith was there, fighting both Bael and Metatron at the same time.

"Tch, damnit!" Vali said as he formed a magic circle.

* * *

Mikaboshi flew as fast as she could towards the flames. She needed to get there fast. If this kept up, Lilith was going to slaughter Bael and Metatron. A presence made itself known as she turned to look.

"Asmodeus," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said, acknowledging her presence.

"Mikaboshi. You're headed there too right?" Asmodeus said.

"Yeah. Get your brother and Metatron. I'll fight Lilith," Mikaboshi said.

Asmodeus nodded and the two sped off towards the battle.

* * *

Hideki and his soldiers made their way to the mountains. He growled in anger as he fired his gun at a demon. Their bullets weren't working on these things. Even a headshot didn't kill it. Hell, they even tried explosives but the damn things just regenerated. He had lost 50 men on the way to the shelters as well as most of his air support in an attempt to save his transport helicopters. As the demon was about to bring its weapon down on him, a large spike of ice impaled the demon and all the demons that had surrounded them.

A girl, younger than he was, landed in front of him. She was short in stature and had raven black hair styled in twin tails. Her eyes were violet and she wore an outfit that he could honestly say made her look like a cosplayer. But she was beautiful. More beautiful than any woman he had ever met except for the Void Goddess. Her most striking feature, however, was her wings. A pair of black bat-like wings were on her back.

The woman turned to them, causing him and his remaining soldiers to stiffen. She bowed before them.

"I am Serafall Leviathan. One of the Four Maou or Devil Kings bearing the title Leviathan. I and my group shall be escorting you to the shelter," Serafall said. Several people landed behind her. One of which was a man wearing silver and blue armor with blonde hair and a girl who looked like a younger, less busty version of Serafall.

"I am Thor, the Norse God of Thunder," Thor said. Some of the soldiers' eyes widened as they immediately ran up to Thor, asking for an autograph.

"Umm," Serafall said, a little peeved that no one was asking her for autographs.

"Right, this is my younger sister and her peerage, Sona Sitri," Serafall said, gesturing to her slender look-alike.

"I am Major General Hideki Kobayashi. This is my now Lieutenant Kosaki Yukishiro," he said, introducing himself and the wide-eyed female soldier next to him.

"You're here for the evacuees yes?" Sona asked.

"That is correct," he said.

Serafall walked over to him and handed him a case. The general opened it and looked inside and saw… guns?

"What use will these be? Our bullets don't even work on them," the general said.

"These guns were specifically created with the Supernatural in mind. You can thank the Christian Church later. These guns have bullets that are imbued with light. Several exorcists on the field have confirmed that these can affect demons but as a precaution, one of our magical specialists imbued these bullets with an exorcism that will banish them back to Hell," Serafall explained.

"There's enough in here for all of us?" Kosaki asked.

"No, just for some of you. We didn't have time to gather these as we expected you to arrive later than sooner," Serafall said. "Poor foresight on our part."

"No, it's okay. At least, these will help my troops survive," Hideki said, grabbing the pistol and cocking it.

"We'll try to keep them all off you. You focus on getting the evacuees out of here and to Tokyo. Also, we have a special interest person that is part of that group. If the demons were to get their hands on him, it would spell doom on all of us," Serafall said.

The general nodded.

"Go," Serafall said as she took off.

"Kosaki, distribute the guns to as many of our surviving troops as you can," Hideki said.

"Yes sir," Kosaki said.

The two turned when they heard screaming. A man with black eyes appeared in front of them and tackled Kosaki. He began to strangle her when a banging sound was heard. The demon screamed before exploding into a cloud of smoke.

"So they do work," Hideki said, looking at the gun.

"General?" Kosaki said as she stood up.

"Let's go get those evacuees," Hideki said.

* * *

Lilith held a beaten Bael by the throat. She stared into the bruised face of her younger brother as he struggled to get out of her grip. On the ground next to them was a bloody and unconscious Metatron. Her body was riddled with slash marks of varying sizes. Her cheek was bruised and one of her wings was broken, the ulna could be seen sticking out.

"Tell me where Issei is," Lilith demanded.

"Never! I'm not letting you start Armageddon!" Bael choked out.

Lilith narrowed her eyes as she began pouring Miasma into Bael. Bael let out a gasp as a red light began to pour out of his eyes and mouth. Before Lilith could do any more damage, a massive force slammed into her and sent her crashing into a building. The building collapsed on top of her, burying her under tons of steel and concrete. Bael fell to the ground, coughing.

He looked up and saw a familiar raven-haired woman landing in front of them.

"Took you a while," Bael said, rubbing his throat.

"Sorry, some demons came up," Mikaboshi said.

"Onii-chan," Asmodeus said as she landed. Her eyes widened when she saw Metatron's state and ran over, beginning to heal her.

"Asmodeus, get Bael and Metatron out of here," Mikaboshi said as a pair of black fans slid out from her sleeves.

Asmodeus nodded and grabbed her older brother and sister-in-law and flew off.

"What is with you people and getting in my way?" the rubble glowed violet before being reduced to nothingness. Lilith stood in the middle, looking up at Mikaboshi.

"It's been a while, Lily," Mikaboshi said.

"Ami," Lilith said as she hovered over to the Void Goddess's position.

"Why Lilith?"

"Why what?" Lilith asked, cocking her head.

"Why Issei? Why do you want to start Armageddon?" Amatsu-Mikaboshi asked.

"Heh heh heh… hahaha, AHAHAHA!" Lilith threw her head back in laughter. Mikaboshi's gaze soon became that of fear and worry. Fear at how her friend was acting. Worry at how hollow she sounded.

"You should understand me. The lives we lived all those years ago. Before these New Gods came, before humanity came, before devils came, and before everything else came. The conflict. The war. The rape, murder, famine, loss, destruction. I'm trying to build a world in which we don't have to experience that," Lilith said.

"And what does starting the end of the world have to do with this?" Mikaboshi asked.

"The End? No, not the end but a new beginning," Lilith said. "Issei will be the beginning of something new. Something beautiful. He will be the one to start a series of events to usher in a new era. An era of peace. An era in which there will be a paradise with no end. For that to happen, there must be change. The old must be done away with for the new to come in. So I guess it is an Apocalypse… to those who cannot accept change," she finished.

"You're really willing to make Issei the sacrificial Lamb just to get a Paradise that might not even be true?" Mikaboshi asked.

"Issei will be rewarded at the end of all this," Lilith said.

"And what could a man that will be broken with the most horrific tortures that no being can ever visualize want?" Mikaboshi asked.

Lilith went silent.

"Issei… will not be tortured that way," Lilith said. Her voice sounded unsure as if she didn't even believe her own words.

"Unfortunately for you, I do not believe that and it seems that neither do you. However, you've deluded yourself with the promise of Paradise and are willing to kill even your own family and for that, I must stop you," Mikaboshi said.

"You can try," Lilith said as her power skyrocketed.

"Hmph. I will but don't think for a second that I slacked since the War. Remember. Among the Elder Gods, the only ones who can challenge people of our level are the Trimurti, Anu, Aten, Bathala, and several others," Mikaboshi said.

"Hmph, I can see that you haven't changed a bit," Lilith said, pointing the Jeweled Sword at her.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi didn't speak, instead opting to charge at Lilith. Lilith was barely able to deflect Mikaboshi's strike, sending a massive cutting wave, carving a massive trench into the distance.

Lilith brought her leg up, sending Mikaboshi into the air. Lilith appeared above her and thrust her blade forward. Mikaboshi deflected it with her fans and sent Lilith off-course. She slammed her leg into Lilith's head, sending her crashing into the ground.

Mikaboshi hovered over the area where Lilith crashed. Her eyes widened as she immediately formed a barrier, blocking a massive beam of violet energy. She was pushed back higher into the sky but her barrier held strong. The beam dispersed, sending a wave of energy outward, splitting apart the clouds.

A shroud of golden energy formed around Mikaboshi as she swung her fans, sending arcs of golden energy towards Lilith. Lilith flipped out of the way as she deftly evaded Mikaboshi's energy arcs. The ground below her was sliced to bits as miniature pits with seemingly no bottom was carved into the ground.

Lilith landed a ways away from the nearest crater. An arc of energy sped towards Lilith. She drew her sword and slashed the arcs in half, destroying the buildings behind her. Lilith's eyes narrowed as she saw a halo of golden energy appear behind Amatsu-Mikaboshi.

"So you're resolved to killing me to prevent everything that I will ever do?" Lilith asked as violet lightning crackled around her.

"If I have to, but I don't want to kill you, Lilith. You're my best friend," Mikaboshi said as she floated there, a shroud of golden energy surrounding her.

"...," Lilith remained silent as the energy around her grew and became more volatile. She raised her arms as the miasma around her condensed and into several spheres of black and blue energy.

"I guess… I'll have to force you to fight for real," Lilith said.

"Lilith…," Mikaboshi said. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her eyes opened revealing two glowing red orbs. "I won't hold back."

"I'd be disappointed if you did," Lilith said, smirking.

Mikaboshi unleashed a massive wave of violet arcs that rocketed at speeds imperceivable to lesser beings. To the other gods on the field as well as the youkai, angels, and devils, Mikaboshi may as well not have attacked at all.

Lilith similarly unleashed her attack, swirling the energy into a vortex and sending it at Mikaboshi.

Where the two attacks met, the world folded as space warped and collapsed in on itself. The planet shook as the sky turned dark, the sun's light being overridden by the massive point of light that just appeared before them.

Kali reacted immediately upon seeing the point of light and raised a massive barrier around herself and the other gods. Asmodeus noticing the massive energy spike also raised a massive barrier around herself and everyone else. Every supernatural being followed their lead and reinforced the barrier that was put up around them.

The world was bathed in light as the entire planet shook. A shockwave traveled from Kuoh across the entirety of Japan, sending massive waves that battered the coasts of other countries. Lightning crashed across the globe as massive hurricane-force winds battered every country in the vicinity of Japan.

The light died down and almost not a single trace of Kuoh could be seen.

"Is this the power of the Elder Ones?" Tsukuyomi asked, falling to her knees as she stared out over the ruined, scorched land that went on for miles in every direction around them. The little patch of land they were on that was unscathed was being surrounded by Mikaboshi and Kali's barrier.

Up in the mountains, Serafall lowered her barrier as the soldiers stood and looked over the ruined land. The once large town of Kuoh was now nothing but a scorched ruined patch of land.

Hideki grabbed his phone when he heard buzzing.

"Yes?" he said. His eyes widened at what he heard and he dropped his phone.

"What is it?" Serafall asked as she tended to the wounded.

"Every city within a hundred-kilometer radius of Kuoh has been destroyed. Tokyo and Kyoto have suffered massive damage and cities on the islands of Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu were also affected," Hideki said.

"Is this what the Gods are capable of?" Kosaki asked Serafall as she healed her.

"Yes, but ever since the Great War, every war that the Gods have had has taken place in our realms. The last time the human world was involved in a supernatural war was when the Beast of the Sea, Trihexa, was released. We managed to seal it away again as well as minimize damage to your world," Serafall said.

"... Unfortunately, now seems to be the opposite," Hideki said bitterly as he looked out over the ruined land.

"Yes," Serafall said.

A large boom shook the area as Serafall struggled to see the combatants.

"Amatsu-Mikaboshi is fighting the Demon Princess Lilith," Serafall said as she watched them blur in and out of existence, clashing in mid-air.

A flash of light lit up the sky as another explosion occurred, this one splitting the sky open. Massive winds buffeted them as they raised their arms to shield their faces.

"Let's get a move on," Serafall said. Hideki nodded and continued to the shelter.

* * *

Lilith and Mikaboshi locked weapons in mid-air as they glared at each other, trapped inside a deadlock.

"Just give up, Ami!" Lilith said, pushing on the blade.

"I won't let you use your brother to start Armageddon!" Mikaboshi replied, pushing back.

"I'm too far in! I can't turn back anymore!" Lilith said as she pushed back, sending Mikaboshi flying backward.

"Why!? We always have a choice!" Mikaboshi yelled back at her. "You were the one who said that to every demon who joined our side during the Holy War! Why is it now that you feel as if you have none!?"

"Because I have taken on Mother's role as Guardian of Creation just as she did to Grandfather when He died!" Lilith screamed. "Your Progenitor… the progenitor of every pantheon in existence on this world and on others, Death himself, and Grandmother all but abandoned Creation after Grandfather's death. His own Wife and Siblings no longer want anything to do with the very Creation of their older brother so His role as Caretaker passed onto Mother, and now that Mother is missing, that role is now mine. And as the current Caretaker, I have seen that this world is no longer the world my Grandfather created so… I will remake it back into the paradise he envisioned. Issei is the first out of seven keys to achieving that," she said.

"You've gone insane," Mikaboshi said.

"I've merely seen the world for what it is. Imperfect. Impure. Full of evil. And it must be corrected. You and Hephaestus of all people should have understood me," Lilith said.

"Lilith…," Mikaboshi said as she looked at her sadly.

"I'm sorry," Lilith said as she began to condense a massive amount of Miasma around herself.

_Shit! If she enters Qliphoth Mode, she'll destroy everything!_ Mikaboshi said.

Lilith suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed as a circle appeared next to her ear.

"You have them?" Lilith said.

"..." her eyes narrowed as a look of fury etched itself on her face.

"You will get your reward. Now take them to the specified location," Lilith hissed.

"..."

"Good," Lilith said. She powered down and looked at her old friend. "It appears that something has come up. We shall continue this later," Lilith said.

"Where are you going?" Amatsu-Mikaboshi asked.

"Something requires my attention, Ami. Let's talk again sometime," Lilith said as she turned around.

"Hey, wait!" Mikaboshi moved to grab Lilith, only to be blasted back by a telekinetic force.

Lilith smiled before disappearing.

* * *

"Did Lilith just leave?" Sirzechs asked as they stood in front of a tied up Astaroth, who was now conscious.

"My Princess would never flee from battle, Zechs-kun," Astaroth said.

"Can you please stop calling me that?" Sirzechs said as he looked at her. Grayfia was sending the blue-haired cambion death glares only for Astaroth to smirk in return. Asmodeus sighed.

"I won't. Will you punish me for being a naughty girl, Sir~ Zechs~ kun~?" Astaroth said, seductively.

Sirzechs blushed as red as his hair color as Grayfia struggled to contain herself.

"Really, Astaro-!" Asmodeus's eyes widened as Miasma condensed around her. The aura dispelled as her hair turned white, her skin became paler than it already was. She gained two curved horns that had blue flames flickering around them and her eyes became a pale, icy blue.

"**Qliphoth Mode: Asmodeus Golachab!**" she announced as she summoned a whip that was comprised of black and blue flames.

"Hello, Little Sister," Lilith appeared in front of them.

Sirzechs entered his true form as Grayfia readied herself to fight Lilith.

"Ane-ue," Asmodeus said as she tensed herself.

"As fun as it would be to watch the three of you try and hit me, I have more pressing matters to attend to," Lilith said. She waved her hand, sending all three of them flying in different directions.

Astaroth paled as Lilith approached her. She began to quake in fear as Lilith drew closer.

"My Princess, I am deeply sorry for my failure to find Issei Hyoudou. I shall accept whatever punishment you deem fit to inflict upon my being," Astaroth said, fear present in her voice. Her eyes widened when Lilith broke the bonds holding her.

"Let's go, Ast," Lilith said.

"My Princess?" Astaroth tilted her head in confusion.

"We have him in our grasp," Lilith said as she smiled. Astaroth nodded and the two disappeared in a plume of black smoke.

* * *

Samael landed in front of a beaten and tired Vali. Around him, the unconscious forms of his friends were strewn all over the battlefield alongside hundreds of corpses belonging to demons.

As Samael was about to kill Vali, a voice echoed across all of Kuoh.

"_All demons. Retreat now. This is an order!"_

Samael scoffed before sighing. "Looks like you live… for now." Samael disappeared in a puff of black smoke, causing Vali's eyes to widen.

"Teleportation? The barrier is spatial-locked!" he said. Vali stood and limped over to the others. He pulled out a vial of Phenex Tears and poured it into Le Fay's mouth. Le Fay glowed light red for a second, healing her injuries. Le Fay gasped as she shot up, gasping for air.

"What? What happened?" Le Fay asked.

"Samael left."

She turned and saw Vali sitting next to her.

"I need you to heal everyone," Vali said.

Le Fay looked around and saw her friends' injured forms. She nodded and got to work.

* * *

"It's over?" Rias asked as she watched Abaddon disappear.

"...," Vigne and Tyrael remained silent as they lowered their weapons.

"She teleported," Rossweisse said, landing next to the Cadre and the Knight.

"She did," Tyrael said.

"How? We spatial locked the town for everyone!" Rossweisse said. "I outfitted the barrier myself alongside the Maou and Angels."

"I don't know but we'll figure it out," Vigne said.

"For now, let's go meet up with the others," Ambriel said as she helped the other hunters.

"Do you and Sitri-san have this handled?" Hideki asked his Lieutenant.

"Yes, sir. Now, go with Leviathan-sama. Go figure out what is going on," Kosaki said. Hideki nodded as he motioned for two of his troops to follow him.

"Is there anyone left from any news media that followed us?" Hideki asked one of his soldiers.

"Yeah, we have a few that survived that blast," the soldier said. The three approached Serafall who was waiting for them.

"We are ready but if I may, can we grab the news reporters?" Hideki asked.

"Just one of them. The media isn't exactly known for being… fair," Serafall said.

"So you all suffer the same issues with the media taking things too far too?" Hideki asked.

"You have no idea," Serafall said as she formed a magic circle underneath them. In flash of violet light.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi landed on the ground. Her hair shadowed her eyes before she looked up at the sky and let out a roar of grief and rage. Her power pulsed as the world turned dark. Her aura disrupting the very fabric of reality around her as the earth quaked in response. Her aura died down as she stood there, unmoving.

"Obaa-sama."

She turned and saw Tsukuyomi, Yasaka, and Kali. Amatsu-Mikaboshi smiled.

"Let's go meet up with everyone else," she said.

* * *

Asia and the other healers worked fervently to heal the grievous injuries that their forces had sustained during their battle against the demons. The area that was protected by Asmodeus and Kali's barrier contained some buildings for them to house the wounded.

Irina sat against the wall, tending to her wounds as she waited for the healers to make their rounds. She looked out towards the mountains where she knew that the JSDF forces were. Helicopters made trips there every now and then, carrying the people of Kuoh out and bringing in supplies and reinforcements.

"Hey."

Irina looked up and saw Rias walking up to her. The devil heiress sat down next to the Ace as the two looked at the helicopters that were currently carrying people away.

"Well, we won," Rias said.

"We did," Irina said, smiling. "Issei is going to live and it's… it's finally over."

"No, it's not," Rias said. Irina looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"There's still the whole Seven Seals of Armageddon thing," Rias said., her eyes growing hard.

"...," Irina looked down. She was right. There was still that whole debacle to deal with. But that was something for the future, all they had to do was focus on the now. Now, they had to rebuild their towns. Repair the land. And most of all, deal with the fact that their world once again included humanity into their fold.

"We also have humans to deal with now," Irina said.

"Yeah," Rias said.

"Rias!"

The two looked up and saw Sirzechs running over to the girl. Rias smiled as her brother swept her up in a tight hug, pouring all his relief at the fact that she was safe into it. Normally, Rias would protest such a public display of affection but she merely smiled and returned it with equal force. Grayfia smiled as the two siblings hugged and saw the gods landing in front of them with Yasaka in tow.

"We need to talk," Amatsu-Mikaboshi said.

"Yes, we do," Serafall said as she and Thor appeared in a magic circle with Hideki, three soldiers, and a reporter and cameraman. The humans puked their lunch while Hideki held it in due to his years of discipline.

"I take it that these are the humans?" Sirzechs said.

"Yes," Serafall answered. She turned to Hideki. "This is Major General Hideki Kobayashi of the Japanese Self Defense Force."

"Greetings Major General Kobayashi. I am Sirzechs Lucifer. One of the Four Devil Kings bearing the title, Lucifer," Sirzechs said, bowing.

"Greetings Lucifer-sama," Hideki bowed.

"The other gods are here as well," Serafall said. She introduced them one by one.

"The one with violet hair and red eyes is Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the Shinto Moon Goddess. The one with blonde hair and fox ears is Yasaka, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The one with dark blue hair and blue eyes is Kali, the Hindu Goddess of Time and Destruction," Sirzechs said.

"Oh and this is my wife, Grayfia Lucifuge," he said, introducing Grayfia.

"Gods…," one of the soldiers said.

"U- Um," the reporter held out a microphone to Kali as he tried to speak. "K- Kali-sama, right? Since you're a goddess from one of the major religions, what do you have to say about all this?" he asked, trying to ask a question.

"Get that microphone out of my face before I give you a colonoscopy with it," Kali said, staring into the man's eyes.

The reporter gulped before returning to Hideki's side.

"Kali, don't threaten the man. It won't do good for your pantheon," Tsukuyomi said.

"There is such a thing as being rude. He was being rude," Kali said, huffing.

"Right, so you promised to explain all this," Hideki said.

"I will explain all this," Mikaboshi said.

Sirzechs and Serafall looked at the Elder Goddess with surprise and nodded, allowing her to take the reins of the conversation.

"There's more to the world you live in as you have figured out," Mikaboshi said. The cameraman zoomed in on her as she explained.

"I figured that much," Hideki said.

"Gods exist. Angels exist. Devils, monsters, youkai, spirits, everything supernatural is real. It's just… you humans cut yourselves off from the Supernatural after the Great War," Mikaboshi said. "Why did they do that? No one really knows. But one thing's for certain. Now, you can no longer turn back. Humanity and the Supernatural have been apart for too long and that needs to be corrected. You were all part of our world just as we are all part of yours. To deny each other is to go against the natural state of things."

Hideki and the humans remained silent as they pondered Mikaboshi's words.

"What you're saying will cause mass panic. Everyone from people who are religious to atheists will have their worlds flipped upside down. As you might have observed, humans aren't exactly the type to accept things that are different," Hideki said.

"We are very well aware of your tendency to ostracize and demonize things that are… different from you," Kali said, remembering World War I and II.

"But… we will work with you to make things right," Hideki said. "I will try to convince my superiors to gather the world leaders to speak with you gods."

"That is all we ask. A chance to talk," Mikaboshi said.

"However, I cannot guarantee…," Hideki trailed off.

"We know."

"Right, so why are the gods and angels working with devils?" the reporter asked.

"Yes, about that. Before this entire… situation with the demons, we had another conflict. A group of supernatural terrorists took the entire supernatural world by storm and took the fight to the human world. In the end, we were able to stop them but not before they released a horrendously powerful being capable of bringing ruin to everything around us," Serafall said, looking down.

"W- Who?" the reporter said, unnerved at the fact that these powerful beings before him were now holding traces of fear in their eyes.

"I mentioned the beast of the sea to the general here. We called it 666 or Trihexa. The Emperor Beast of the Apocalypse. A devil alongside an army of dragons released him into the world in an attempt to bridge the gap to other worlds and conquer them," Serafall said.

"What happened to this devil?" Hideki asked.

"I killed him."

They all turned and saw Vali and his team approaching them.

"Oh, this is Vali Lucifer. Grandson of the Devil we mentioned. He slew his grandfather in battle," Sirzechs said.

"I'm also the current White Dragon Emperor," Vali said.

"I see," Hideki said, looking at Vali. "And they are?"

"These two are Arthur and Le Fay Pendragon. Descendants of Arthur Pendragon. They're human. That one over there with the cat ears is Kuroka. She's a Nekomata. And the one wearing chinese garb is Bikou. He's a Monkey Youkai," Vali said.

Hideki nodded.

"We're here to report that we eliminated all demons that weren't able to escape. However, we have a concern that we need to push forward," Vali said.

"What is it?" Sirzechs asked.

"The demons retreated using teleportation, Onii-sama," Rias said.

"What?" Grayfia asked, shocked.

"That's impossible! We spatial-locked the town! Our best mages locked down the barrier to prevent teleportation on all sides," Sirzechs said.

"Lucifer-sama!" Rossweisse landed, her face full of panic. Akeno and Lisa was right next to her, her face grave.

"Oh, Major General. These are some of our magic experts. This is Rossweisse. She is a former Valkyrie. The black-haired one is Akeno, a Fallen Angel-Devil Hybrid. And the last one is…," Sirzechs was interrupted.

"I am Lisa Emrys-D'Arc. I am Human and a member of Blacklight. That's all you need to know," Lisa said. She turned to Sirzechs.

"The barrier is compromised. A key rune has been instilled into the barrier's coding allowing for the demons to teleport in," Lisa said.

"What?" Asmodeus gasped in shock.

"Who did this?" Metatron asked.

"We don't know at the moment but we took down the barrier and have people working on inspecting its coding," Lisa said. "Rest assured we will find our little saboteur."

"Good. Now, where were we?" Mikaboshi said, turning the conversation back on the topic of human-supernatural relations.

"We were talking of the Emperor Beast as well as setting a date for a conference," Hideki said.

* * *

"Alright! Everyone. One group at a time!" one of the soldiers said. Sona and her group patrolled the air, scanning for demons while the soldiers helped in the evacuation.

"Finally," Mitsuki said as she stepped forward. Their group was the group after the next one. The group containing Murayama, Katase, and the others had gone before them and were currently evacuated to Osaka. One of the cities that was still intact and was close. They had heard that the explosion leveled the entire country, decimating every town and city in Kuoh's vicinity. Furthermore, the explosion had world-wide effects with storms and tsunamis battering other countries.

"Don't jinx us," Risa said as she stood next to Mitsuki. Issei nodded and looked around. He hadn't seen his parents since the shelter was rocked by the explosion and Lily was gone for a while now. She had seen a few of her friends and went to talk to them but now… Lily's friends had boarded the helicopter several minutes ago.

"Um, guys? Where's Lily?" Issei asked. "And where's Tou-san and Kaa-san?"

"Your father went to the restroom," Issei's uncle said.

"But it's been an hour," Mitsuki said, getting worried.

"Go on ahead of us. We'll go look for them," Issei said. His aunt and uncle nodded as Issei, Risa, and Mitsuki began their search.

"Lily!" Issei said as he looked around some trees. "Come on. This isn't funny!"

Issei froze when he heard a muffled shriek. An all-too-familiar shriek.

_Magala!_

Issei ran over and found Magala in her bird form, bound by a mess of seals written in various Kanji characters. Her mouth was bound as she tried to speak to Issei.

"Magala! What happened!?" Issei said, panicked. He tried to break the seals to know avail.

"_Ddraig! Tiamat! Either of you know Omnyoudou!_" Issei asked, recognizing the Japanese Exorcist Arts from his visit to Kyoto.

**[I'm sorry Partner. I do not]** Ddraig said.

**|Same here** Tiamat said apologetically.

"Risa!" Issei called. The angel appeared right next to him and her eyes widened when she saw the bound Magala. She immediately formed a hand sign and dispelled the seals.

"Aniki, what happened!?" Mitsuki asked as she ran over. She saw Issei hugging Magala as she nuzzled him with her beak-snout.

"Magala, what happened?" Issei asked.

"Two people. They sucker punched me and took Lily!" she said.

Issei and Mitsuki's hearts dropped upon hearing her words.

"We have to tell the others. Whoever took Lily must have taken Tou-san and Kaa-san as well," Mitsuki said.

Issei numbly nodded.

"Let's go," Risa said. "They just took down the barrier so we can teleport now."

Issei felt Risa place her hand on his shoulder and the three disappeared in the sound of wings flapping.

* * *

Irina watched alongside Artemis, Eden Squad, Gremory Peerage, and Vali Team as Mikaboshi and Hideki talked alongside the other Gods, Angels, Demons, and Maou. The introduction of Bael and Asmodeus had caused some uproar but it was quelled when Metatron stated that the two were on their side as well as Vigne, Cain, and the other Princes.

Her eyes widened when she felt a familiar energy enter the area.

"Issei?" she muttered as she turned around. There with Mitsuki and Risa was Issei, who had a panicked look on his face.

"Irina!" Issei yelled as he ran over to her. Now that she was close, she noticed his face was as pale as snow. Artemis, Rossweisse, Kuroka, and Ingvild all looked at Issei with worried expressions, being able to feel his panic and grief over the bond.

"Issei, what's wrong?" Artemis asked.

"Issei," he turned to see Bael and Metatron walking over to him. "What are you still doing here? The day doesn't end for four more hours! Lilith could come back!"

"You don't understand! Li-!" he froze when an ominous presence enveloped the town. The sky grew dark as everyone froze out of sheer instinct much like a deer freezes when a predator is near. The clouds above swirled as the wind picked up, sending chills down everyone's spine. The hairs on the back of Issei's neck stood on end as an all-too-familiar voice reverberated across the entire town.

"_Issei-chan. I know you can hear me,"_ Lilith said as her voice echoed across the town.

"Nee-chan," Issei said.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky as a wispy image of Lilith appeared above them.

"_Issei."_

Issei remained silent as he stared up at the wispy image of his adoptive older sister.

"Onee-sama," Bael said.

"_Issei. I have something or rather some people that you hold… dear to your heart_," Lilith said as she waved her hand. His eyes widened in horror as he saw his parents and Lily bound to several posts.

"Let them go!" Issei yelled.

"_And I will. All you have to do is to meet me at a small town a few kilometers rest of Kuoh_," Lilith said.

Issei gritted his teeth as she smirked at his reaction.

"_Don't be late."_

Her projection dispersed as Issei fell to his knees, unsure of what to do next.

"Issei?" Kuroka asked tentatively.

"I'm going…," Issei said, his bangs shadowing his face.

"W- What?" Irina asked incredulously.

"Don't try and stop me. She wants me and me only," Issei said.

"Issei, wai-!" her eyes widened as she and everyone else was blasted away from Issei. She looked at him, hurt as he held his hand out. He had a sad smile on his face before he manifested his wings and took off into the sky, disappearing in a burst of speed.

"Issei!" Irina yelled as she manifested her wings and took off after him. As she reached neared the edge of Kuoh, she slammed into something. Her eyes as a violet barrier appeared around Kuoh.

"Wh- What?"

* * *

Issei landed on the very outskirts amongst the ruined buildings in a small town. There in front of him were his parents and sister, bound to posts. His mother had tears running down her face while his father glared at the figure before them. Lily looked at Issei fearfully, begging for him to save her.

"Hello, Issei-chan," Lilith said.

"Nee-chan," Issei said, glaring angrily at her.

"Shall we get started, Lamb of Judah?" The Princess of Demons said, brandishing her blade.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Rhongomyniad: Don't worry! More of this will be explored in the last chapter of the Arc. I will try and highlight how I think humans would react as well as the reactions of the different religions as to the coexistence of their Gods alongside other Gods. I think the best reaction to write will be the atheists and the Abrahamic Faiths.**

**AnimeFan0216: Yes, there will be more of that. Hehehehe.**

**18Andrew: Not yet... Hehe**

**leader. dbz: Welp, I was going to kill Issei this chapter but decided to do it next chapter soooo...**

* * *

**Hey, hey, I hope you all liked the current chapter! Remember, this is Part II of the four-part finale of the Arc. Next chapter is Issei vs Lilith for the fate of his own life. Also, who do you think took Lily as well as Issei and Mitsuki's parents? Their names are Gorou and Miki like in canon. Anyway, tell me who you think did it. And remember review. Follow. Favorite. And have a great day/night, the choice is yours.**


	47. Invasion of Kuoh Finale

**Yes. There is a rewrite but I decided that it would be a dick move to end and rewrite it without telling you all how Season 2 ends so here. A bone for you all.**

**I do not own Highschool DxD. Highschool DxD is owned by Fujimi Shobo, Fujimi Fantasia Bunko, Funimation, and Ichie Ishibumi. Please support the official release.**

* * *

**[Ddraig talking]**

_**[Ddraig thinking]**_

**{Albion talking}**

_**{Albion thinking}**_

**|Tiamat talking|**

_**|Tiamat thinking|**_

_Mental Communication_

"Regular Dialogue"

**Attacks/Spells**

* * *

**Ruined Town West of Kuoh, February 24, 2021, 9:59 PM, Current Time: 1 minute and 2 Seconds Til Midnight**

* * *

Issei stood silently as the winds blew across the ruins. His brown hair blew slightly in the direction of the breeze as he looked at his older sister with an angry gaze. His teeth were gritted as his grip around Darkscalon tightened.

Lilith stood there with an impassive look on her face as her azure blue eyes looked at her younger brother without any semblance of emotion whatsoever. She placed a hand on her hip and snapped her fingers.

Astaroth appeared next to Lilith in a plume of black smoke, kneeling next to the Demon Princess.

"Astaroth. Release them and send them back," Lilith said, gesturing to Gorou, Miki, and Lily.

"As you command My Princess," Astaroth said as she walked over to the hostages.

"See? We can negotiate. Your life for theirs," Lilith said.

"Wait? What are you going to do with my son!?" Miki screamed as she struggled against Astaroth's telekinetic grip.

"Big brother!" Lily called out.

"Lily! Damnit! What are you doin-!" Gorou was interrupted.

"SILENCE YOU PATHETIC WORM!" Lilith said as her aura flared. Lightning crackled across the sky as the wind picked up.

"It's going to be okay, Tou-san. Kaa-san. Lily," Issei said, smiling at them. "You're safe now."

"Astaroth, if you would," Lilith said.

"Of course, my Princess," Astaroth disappeared in a plume of black smoke with the Hyoudou's leaving Issei alone with Lilith.

"You know. I have to thank a few people. If it weren't for them, you would have never come here and I would have had to hunt you down for the rest of your life," Lilith said.

"Who did it?" Issei asked.

"I was expecting that. Since I'm such a good big sister, I'll let you talk to them. You have 5 minutes," Lilith said.

"Five minutes is plenty," Issei said darkly.

Lilith snapped her finger and two people appeared in between the two siblings.

"I should've known it was you two bastards," Issei said.

"W- What? Where are… you!" Tatsuya took a step back and pointed at Issei. Yuu merely looked on in terror as he began to shake in his shoes.

Issei took a step forward as he dragged Ascalon menacingly across the ground.

"Remember. Five minutes," Lilith said as she turned around.

"Wait! What about our reward!?" Yuu asked.

"Yeah, aren't you going to help us!? We're on the same side!" Tatsuya screamed.

"Same side? We were never on the same side. You hurt my baby brother. As for your reward? This is your reward. An early death. Better dying here than with the others in a little while," Lilith said as she waved. Lilith's body dispersed into a black mist.

"Issei."

Tatsuya turned to see Yuu holding his hands up in surrender.

"I know that we didn't get along and I kidnapped your family and all but… that bitch Lilith. She promised us something. She said she wou-!"

"I don't care what she said. In fact, I'm going to gut her next for targeting my family so just do me a favor and don't struggle," Issei said as he jammed Ascalon into Yuu's stomach.

Yuu's eyes widened in pain and terror as Issei twisted the blade around. His bargaining devolved into cries of pain and mercy as Issei ignited the blade inside of Yuu. Yuu's voice became hoarse as his screams began to die out. His organs were being incinerated as he felt every waking moment of his body being burned from the inside out.

Tatsuya watched in horror as his accomplice was being charbroiled alive right in front of him. Yuu reached out to Tatsuya with a charred hand before Issei stomped on his skull. Issei brought his foot up and slammed it back down into the ground once more. Yuu's burning corpse spasmed before going still. Yuu's hand fell pathetically to the ground.

"Woah there Issei. This was all Yuu's idea. It was his idea to make a bargain with Lilith. He forced me to go along with it!" Tatsuya protested as Issei pulled out Ascalon and began walking over to him.

"I don't care. The minute you touched my parents and sister. Your life was forfeit," Issei said.

Tatsuya took a step back and tripped, falling on his back. He groaned and squealed in terror when he saw Issei above him. In a panic, he summoned his Sacred Gear and attacked Issei.

Issei's eyes glowed and Tatsuya froze mid-punch.

"I have one minute left with you so I'll make it count," Issei said as he grabbed Tatsuya by his face and began to overload his body with Miasma.

Tatsuya screamed.

"PLEASE STOP! NO MOORE! PLEASE!"

Issei ignored him as he poured more and more Miasma. A red light came out of Tatsuya's mouth before his pathetic struggling ceased and Issei dropped his body. His eye sockets were scorched and his mouth was streaked with charred blood.

**[Play Nanatsu no Taizai OST: Meliodas vs The Ten Commandments]**

"You done?"

Issei whirled around to see Lilith sitting in midair with an emotionless look on her face.

"Yeah," Issei said.

"So, we're doing this then," Lilith said, standing up and floating down to the ground.

Issei stayed silent.

**[|Abyss Dragon Drive|]**

"So that's your starting move," Lilith muttered.

"I'm not dying tonight, Nee-Chan," Issei said as he dropped into a stance.

"I can see that," she said. "Well then. For what it's worth. I'm sorry. I had no choice on the matter."

"We always have a choice. You made yours," Issei said.

Lilith smiled sadly. She took one step towards Issei and disappeared. Issei's eyes widened as he frantically scanned his surroundings. Lilith appeared in front of Issei and delivered a devastating uppercut, sending Issei into the air.

Blood spurted out of Issei's mouth as his visor was shattered. Lilith appeared above him and performed an ax kick sending him into the ground and skidding across the street. Issei slammed into a wall, bringing down the building on top of him.

"Come now. I know that that one didn't kill you," Lilith said, crossing her arms as she hovered in midair.

The rubble exploded as Issei appeared in front of her.

**[Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!] [Boost!]**

**[Catastrophic Dragon Shot!]**

Issei fired a massive beam of blue energy at point-blank range. Lilith was engulfed in the blue energy beam. Issei raised his arm and the beam curved, sending it high into the atmosphere. The sky lit up as a massive blue flare of energy could be seen in the sky.

**[End OST]**

* * *

**Kuoh Town**

* * *

Irina slammed into the barrier once more, trying to break past it.

"Irina. Just stop it's no use," Kuroka said as she shifted back to her normal form.

"Tch! There has to be a way to break through this!" Irina yelled.

"We can't," Sirzechs said. "The barrier is practically invincible. Power Absorption seals for any magical attacks and Spatio-Temporal Locking seals for locking down teleportation," he said.

"So we're trapped here!? How will we know if Issei is even safe?" Rossweisse said.

"We use Iris," Artemis said.

"Iris?" Kiba asked.

"In our pantheon, in addition to using CCs to communicate. We also use Iris Messaging," Artemis said, pulling out a gold coin from her pouch along with a spray can. Artemis pressed down on the sprayer and a mist sprayed out, forming a small rainbow. Artemis flipped the coin and tossed it into the mist.

"Oh, Iris, Goddess of Rainbows. Show me Issei Hyoudou," Artemis said. The polychromatic mist shimmered before an image of Issei fighting Lilith appeared. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw Issei fighting for his life.

"Issei!" Irina called.

Issei didn't respond as he thrust his sword at Lilith's torso. The Demoness simply batted Ascalon aside before kicking his foot out from under him. She slammed her palm into his chest, sending him sliding across the ground.

"We need to help him!" Mitsuki said.

A pulse of miasma alerted them. They turned around to see Astaroth with Mitsuki and Issei's parents and Lily.

"A deal is a deal," Astaroth said before disappearing in a plume of black smoke.

"Lily! Tou-san! Kaa-san!" Mitsuki ran over and hugged the three of them.

"Mitsuki! Those monsters! They have-!" Miki began but was interrupted.

"We know," Mitsuki said.

"We have to get him out of there!" Gorou said.

"Unfortunately, Hyoudou-san."

The two parents looked up to see Sirzechs.

"That won't be possible with our current situation," he said.

"Gremory-san?"

"I'll explain to them. You go find a way to help Issei," Sirzechs said. Mitsuki nodded and ran back over to the Iris Message.

* * *

**With Issei and Lilith**

* * *

"Ack!" Issei coughed up blood as he fell to his hands and knees. Ascalon lay next to him. He had no time. No opening to activate the Qliphoth Mode. He looked defiantly at Lilith as she walked towards him. She slammed her foot into his stomach, sending him sliding across the ground.

Issei stopped several hundred feet from Lilith and rolled onto his back.

_My back is flayed. I'm pretty sure I broke several ribs and I think I've lost six teeth,_ Issei thought.

**[Hang in there partner!]** Ddraig urged.

**|Don't die on us Issei!|** Tiamat pleaded.

"You know Issei. My mother, Lucifer, when she told me that I had to kill you because of all the Special Children, you were the one that qualified the most, I almost said no. But she promised that once your work was done, you would be the first to experience Paradise," Lilith said as she stood over him.

"Your Paradise is just a lie," Issei said.

"You're wrong. Through my mother, anything is possible. All the Gods and beings that oppose us will be erased from existence," Lilith said. "All bad concepts gone… it will just be peace. You can finally have the piece you longed for since the Evil Dragon War. We can be a family again. I can give you a real family with a mother who will care for you and adore you," she said.

"If your mother is the mother you're proposing to be my new mom, I don't think I'd be game since she's the one forcing you to drag my soul to Hell," Issei said.

"You'll see and you'll be wrong when you're living in the New Eden," Lilith said.

"You won't succeed. Even if I die here," Issei said. "Someone will take my place and fight you!"

"I know. And I'm prepared," Lilith said. "The Seals are pretty straight forward. In fact, the Final Seal is similar to the First."

"...," Issei remained silent.

* * *

Rossweisse analyzed the barrier as the others argued about what to do.

"I say we break it. Pool our powers together!" Sona argued.

"No. You heard what Sirzechs and the others said. All magical attacks will be negated," Irina argued.

"Vali, can you divide the barrier?" Kuroka asked.

"No. Not right now. I'm still recovering my strength from my fight with Samael," he said.

"So what we just sit here?" Rias asked.

"I may have something," Rossweisse said as she saw one portion of the runic array that seemed peculiar.

"What!?" Ingvild asked as she ran over alongside everyone else.

"There's a part of the barrier I can exploit and it'll allow me to open a temporary hole here at our location," Rossweisse said as she began to tinker with the runic array.

"Okay! Let's do it," Gasper said.

"There's a catch," Rossweisse said.

"What's the catch?" Kiba asked.

"Only a couple of people can fit through before it collapses," Rossweisse said.

"How many?" Bikou asked.

"Eleven, I think," she answered.

"Should we let the leaders know?" Akeno asked.

"No," Irina said. Everyone looked at her curiously. Irina met their stares with a determined and rebellious gaze.

"If they know, they'll try and stop us," she said.

The others looked down at her words, knowing them to be true. After a few seconds of tense silence, Asia spoke up.

"So… who's going through?" she asked.

"We will," Rias said, stepping forward.

Everyone turned to look at her. Rias smiled.

"My peerage will go."

"Why yours?" Sona asked. "Issei is our friend too!"

"We know," Kiba said, standing next to his king. "But Issei was a part of Gremory Peerage before he became your friends," he said.

"And it's our responsibility to bring back our Pawn even if he's not a member anymore," Koneko said.

Rossweisse and Irina looked at each other and nodded. They walked over and stood next to Rias. Gasper nodded along with Rias's words as he and Asia stepped up and stood beside them.

"I'll go too," Mitsuki said. "It's my fault that Aniki is in this mess, to begin with. It's only right I get him out of it."

"I will as well," Ingvild said. "Issei was my first friend, first love, my first time. He made me feel normal despite my family status. I'm not blind. I know the looks of disgust I get from other devils for being related to the Original Leviathan but Issei, he always made them go away and saved me from my pain. And I'll save him from an eternity of it. Plus… what's a team without their captain?"

Irina, Mitsuki, Kiba, Rossweisse, and Gasper's eyes all widened at her words.

"That's right. Issei is our captain," Irina said.

"They have no right to take him from us," Rossweisse said.

"The only ones who can mess with our Captain is us," Kiba said.

"Ditto," Gasper said.

"Alright, Rossweisse. How does this work?" Irina asked.

"Well, give me a few minutes," she said.

* * *

Issei cried out in pain as he crashed into the ground. He looked up weakly at the moonlit sky where Lilith hovered above him. Her hand was suddenly covered in an aura of darkness as she looked down at him.

"This is the end Issei-chan," Lilith said sadly.

Issei closed his eyes when a tingling feeling crept into his mind. He smiled and looked defiantly at his older sister.

Lilith looked down at his smile and dove towards Issei, intent on shoving her fist through his chest. Issei kept smiling and closed his eyes once more. Time slowed down as Lilith was mere inches away from Issei. Her fist moved forward and was about to turn Issei's chest into swiss cheese when a large blast of light sent her flying into the sixth story of an office building.

"You're an idiot," Issei rasped out in pain.

The familiar sight of twin tails blowing gently in the night breeze comforted him as the figure's loving violet eyes looked down into his brown ones. Ten pairs of translucent cyan wings were seen behind her.

"Yeah. But I'm your idiot," she said.

"That's my line," Issei said.

"And you used mine so we're even," Irina said.

"Issei!"

He turned around to see Rias and the others landing. Asia immediately ran over and began to heal Issei. Issei sighed in relief as he felt his body put himself back together. After Asia healed his leg, Issei sat up as she continued to heal the rest of his body.

"You guys are all idiots," Issei said, chuckling as Asia finished healing his arm.

"Yeah, we are. But since when is this the first time we did something stupid," Rias said, smirking.

"Stupid is part of our club motto and our peerage motto," Akeno added.

"No, it's not," Koneko said. "You literally just added that."

"Well it's our team motto," Mitsuki said, walking forward.

"Is it?" Issei asked.

"It is," Kiba confirmed as he helped Issei to his feet.

An explosion alerted them to the building where Lilith had crashed into. Everyone tensed when they saw a woman clad in violet aura step forward. Her hair floated as her upward ponytail grew longer and sharpened into a bang that hung in front of her eyes. A long stocky metallic tail could be seen swishing as massive bat-like wings expanded from her back. Dark markings appeared on Lilith's body as her once blue eyes glowed an ominous red.

"It was a mistake to come here," Lilith said.

* * *

"Vali."

Vali turned around to see Sirzechs walking up to them with Bael and Grayfia. The Maou's blue eyes looked around as he tried to locate his sister.

"Have you seen Rias?" Sirzechs asked.

Vali glanced over to Kuroka who simply shrugged.

"Just tell him," Artemis said as she swiped the Iris Message, enlarging it so Sirzechs could see.

The Maou Lucifer felt his heart drop when he saw where she was. There on the Iris Message was Rias standing with Issei and the others while Lilith hovered in the air above them. Sirzechs' vision started to spin as he stumbled back.

"Sirzechs?" Grayfia asked in a worried tone.

"How?" Sirzechs asked in a low tone. "HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET OUT!? WHY DID YOU ALL LET HER GO!?"

Sirzechs' aura flared and shook the area as he took a step towards the teams.

"It was her idea," Kuroka said.

Sirzechs froze.

"She wanted to go and rescue Issei," Vali said. "They all did. Said it was their responsibility."

"Well that responsibility is going to get them killed," Grayfia said, staring at the Iris Message.

* * *

"Did you really expect that coming here to help Issei changes anything?" Lilith asked.

"It might not but…," Irina said, grabbing Issei's hand. "If he dies, then he won't be alone."

"Irina," Issei said softly. The angel flashed him a small smile before turning to Lilith. A blue aura enveloped Irina, causing Issei to step away from her. A pillar of blue light erupted from the ground, enveloping Irina. The light swirled and pulsed as Lilith and the others looked on with interest. The light finally died and faded except for a few particles.

**[Play Naruto Shippuden OST: Those Who Are Encouraged]**

Irina's hair had turned silver. Her body was covered in a black bodysuit that was covered in a black breastplate with red lines of energy pulsating across the chest. The armor extended down, forming a waist cape made of pure black metal while her arms were covered in malleable black metal sleeves. A black crown manifested itself on her head as her hair turned into a light silver color. Irina finally opened her eyes to reveal that her eyes were no longer violet but gold. She opened her mouth and spoke.

"**[Heaven's Twilight Balance Breaker: Code Lailah!]** Irina announced. She summoned Hauteclere and leveled it at Lilith.

Lilith narrowed her eyes.

"If you're so adamant about staying here," Lilith said, raising her palm. "Then you can all die together!"

A flash of violet light erupted from her palm, bathing the world in purple. A massive explosion rocked the entire area.

Sirzechs and the others covered their eyes as the light that was coming from the Iris Message became too bright for them to bear. When the light died down, a cloud of smoke could be seen in the image.

"RIAS! ISSEI!" Sirzechs yelled.

"Wait… look!" Bael pointed.

Lilith narrowed her eyes when a red comet sped towards her.

**[|Qliphoth Mode: Issei Cathariel!|]**

Lilith held her hand out and caught the flaming fist of Issei Hyoudou. His red eyes looked into hers defiantly. She raised her other hand and caught the blade of Hauteclere. Irina gritted her teeth as she tried to push on the blade.

Mitsuki appeared next to her in her **{Grand Design Form}** and tried to kick Lilith's torso only for Lilith to raise her knee to block it.

Kiba flickered into existence behind Lilith and tried to slash her unprotected back when Lilith's tail blocked Gram.

She smirked as they pushed all their strength against her.

"NOW!" Issei yelled.

Lilith's eyes widened when the rest came out of the cloud. She narrowed her eyes and kicked away Mitsuki and wrapping her tail around Kiba's arm and threw him. Lilith swung her arms towards each other, forcing Issei and Irina to collide with each other. Lilith threw them as she dodged an attack from Rias.

Xenovia appeared behind her and swung Ex-Durandal. Lilith deftly evaded the blade and wrapped her tail around Xenovia's throat. Before she could crush it, a dense ball of red energy slammed into her, sending her flying back and forcing her to let go of Xenovia.

Rias, in her **Goddess of Ruin** form, fired a tandem shot with Akeno. Their lightning and Power of Destruction merged together forming a beam of black, red and yellow energy.

Lilith raised her hand and smacked the beam out of the way, sending it crashing into a mountain.

Gasper, in his **Balor Form**, brought his fist down on Lilith. A large shockwave reverberated throughout the area as Lilith's head turned slightly to the side, Gasper still struggling to send her flying as his fist dug into her cheek. Lilith placed a hand on Gasper and blasted him away.

A shadow appeared behind Lilith as she turned to see a massive red dragon made of blood close its maw around her. Ingvild and Rossweisse looked at the Blood Dragon in anticipation.

Rossweisse pointed Misteleinn at the dragon and fired a blast of pure energy at it. The blast destroyed the dragon and traveled until impacting a building a few hundred feet away.

A beam of dark violet energy was fired from the rubble. The beam headed straight for Rossweisse.

Issei appeared in front of her.

**[Divide!]**

Issei gritted his teeth as he tried to hold off the beam.

**[Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!] [Divide!]**

The beam grew smaller and smaller until it was enough for Issei to deflect. Issei fell to his knee as Lilith flew into the air. She formed five black and violet spheres and fired them at Issei.

Irina, Xenovia, and Kiba appeared in front of Issei and unleashed a massive wave of energy from their blades. The large blade of energy clashed with the spheres, causing the area to shake. Rias, Akeno, and Koneko added to the energy to support Irina, Xenovia, and Kiba in holding back Lilith's attack.

"**Soul Extinctor!**" Issei fired his attack, pushing back Lilith's energy spheres. The attacks destabilized and exploded in mid-air. A massive shockwave traveled outward from the town for miles.

Lilith narrowed her eyes before disappearing.

**[End OST]**

"Where'd she go?" Gasper asked as he kept his guard up. Issei closed his eyes and tried to sense her Miasma signature. Issei's eyes snapped open when he felt her energy surround them.

"LOOK OUT!" Issei yelled. Lilith appeared between Issei and the others and raised her palm. A blast of darkness sent them all flying away from Issei.

Irina groaned as she landed. She shakily stood to her feet and spread her wings to try and get to Issei.

"Sit still will you," Lilith said as she snapped her fingers. Tendrils of darkness erupted from the ground, wrapping around her and slamming her back to the ground. Irina looked around and saw that the others were bound in the same way.

Lilith smiled before turning to Issei.

"You know that the others are watching right?" Lilith asked.

"Watching?" Issei asked, confused. Lilith pointed to the misty screen that showed Vali Team, Sitri Peerage, Sirzechs, Grayfia, Bael, Metatron, Lily, and his parents.

"Sad. It really is," Lilith said.

Issei took advantage of her lapse in concentration and swung Ascalon to her throat. His eyes widened when he saw tendrils of darkness wrapped around his arm and the blade. Issei struggled to push forward to no avail.

Lilith's eyes glowed and a tendril stabbed into Issei's right thigh. Issei's face winced in pain as he struggled to focus. Another tendril pierced Issei's side while another embedded itself into his shoulder.

"STOP!" Irina yelled as she watched Lilith's tendrils pierce through Issei.

Everyone else watched in horror as Issei's hand fell and dropped Ascalon.

Issei tried to keep his eyes open as his breaths became slower. He felt his miasma begin to heal him but the blood loss was too much.

**|WHELP! HANG IN THERE!|** Tiamat roared inside his head.

**[Damnit Partner! I'll try and boost your healing factor!]** Ddraig said.

Issei nodded but coughed up blood as Lilith drove her fist into his stomach. When she pulled her hand away, Issei fell to his knees and vomited a large amount of blood. He looked up at his older sister with a defiant stare still on his face.

"That defiant stare is becoming annoying. You must accept the role given to you, Issei. You are the Lamb of Judah, the bringer of the Apocalypse and the bringer of Salvation," Lilith said.

"Over my dead body!" Issei said.

"That's the idea. I'm sorry Issei. I never wanted to do this but I promise, it will all be over soon," Lilith whispering the words into his ear. She pulled away and a coating of dark energy.

Issei looked at the ORC and Eden Squad with a look of resignation and sadness on his face. He smiled before turning back to his older sister.

"I'm sorry… Issei-chan."

Issei mouthed a few words to Lilith and she nodded. Ddraig and Tiamat roared inside the gear in rage as they felt powerless to help their host.

Irina screamed in horror as Lilith's darkness blade extended and stabbed straight through Issei's chest. Issei gasped in shock as he looked down at his chest.

Lilith closed her eyes as tears began to stream down her face. She dispersed the blade and the chains holding down Irina and the others.

As soon as the chains dispersed, Irina shot off towards Lilith with Hauteclere poised to strike. As she slashed downwards, the blade went right through Lilith as she dispersed into a cloud of black smoke.

Irina frantically looked around for Lilith with a crazed look in her eye before the sounds of Issei's shallow breaths brought her back down to reality. She kneeled and grabbed Issei, cradling his head close to her. She saw a gaping wound in his chest and several more on his body.

"ASIA!" Irina yelled. Asia ran over as fast as she could and began to use Twilight Healing to try and heal Issei.

Issei's wounds glowed violet as they rejected Twilight Healing's healing power, sending Asia stumbling back a bit as the violet lightning attacked her hands.

"I- I can't heal him!" Asia said.

"Well keep trying!" Irina yelled.

"R- Rin…"

Irina looked down and saw Issei reaching out to touch her face. Tears began to flow from her eyes and fell onto Issei's bloody face.

"M- Mii-chan," Issei said weakly. Mitsuki knelt next to Issei and gripped his hand.

"Rossweisse, I- Ingvild, K- Kiba, G- Gasper, e- everyone," Issei said. "I'm sorry."

"No, Issei stop talking. We can get help. I'll just call Onii-sama and get some Phenex Tears and you'll be as good as new!" Rias said as her voice began to break from grief.

Issei sent her a bloody smile before lifting his left hand. He opened it and inside was a small red bracelet with emerald and sapphire embedded into the band.

"Lily," Issei said. Mitsuki gingerly picked up the bracelet and nodded at her twin brother. The pain in her chest was nothing compared to the pain her grief was causing her.

Issei squeezed her hand one last time before the light left his eyes. His eyelids slowly dropped before he stopped breathing.

"Issei?" Irina asked when she saw his eyes close. Thinking he had just fallen asleep, Irina gently shook him.

"Issei, wake up," Irina said.

Rias and the others looked away while Mitsuki just placed her forehead into her brother's hand. Rossweisse fell to her knees and began to sob while Ingvild just looked at Issei blankly with a steady stream of tears streaming down her face.

"Issei, come on. It's not funny," Irina said, her shaking becoming more desperate. Visions of their childhood came flying into her head.

"Wake up you dumbass!" Irina yelled as visions of their date and trip to buy their car came to mind.

"Please… please don't leave me alone again," Irina whispered as she pressed her forehead against Issei's increasingly cold skin.

Her eyes snapped open as her face turned to the sky. A violet glow came from her eyes as a white aura surrounded her. She let out a blood-curdling scream to the heavens as a pulse of light exploded from her, forcing everyone to erect a barrier to shield themselves.

"ISSSSEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Irina screamed as her surroundings were leveled from her very aura.

* * *

**March 7, 2021, Gremory Territory Graveyard, 10:00 AM**

* * *

Irina looked blankly at the coffin as the Archangel Michael said a small blessing. A large cross symbol appeared over Issei's coffin before dissipating into a stream of golden particles.

Rossweisse and Kuroka stood next to her, crying while Ingvild sobbed into her hands. Mitsuki looked down at her brother's coffin with tears streaming down her face while Lily cried into her sister's dress. Kiba and Gasper stood by with Kiba being comforted by Tsubaki, who was also crying, and Gasper hugging Koneko while crying. Asia, Akeno, Ravel, Xenovia, and Rias sobbed while their families and friends comforted them.

Azrael nodded to Sirzechs and Azazel and the two, alongside Bael, Ajuka, Vali, and Arthur, walked over to Issei's coffin, picked it up, and began to carry it outside.

Issei's funeral, despite Irina's wishes for it to be a simple affair, became overinflated as masses of people waited outside for him to be carried out of the Gremory Estate. Irina looked out over the crowd which contained members from every pantheon and the residents of Kuoh.

Behind her, Issei's parents looked down solemnly as they followed the coffin that contained their now dead son. A thought ran through Miki's head.

_Issei… I was such a horrible mother to you. I'm so sorry_, Miki thought.

After several minutes of walking, they arrived at a large mausoleum that had been constructed in the past few days in honor of Issei. It was made of white marble with the statues of Ddraig and Tiamat stood outside the building, guarding it.

They entered the building and the men carrying the coffin placed it at the center and opened the casket. Azrael walked up to it and held her hand out. A black glow appeared around Issei's corpse before fading.

"I preserved Issei's corpse. It won't decay. Ever," Azrael said.

Everyone walked forward and began to say their goodbyes. Each member of Vali Team, the ORC, and Eden Squad all gave heartfelt goodbyes one by one as they walked up to Issei's coffin.

Irina went last as she walked up. She placed a hand on the glass as a few tears fell onto the casket.

"I swear Issei. I swear to the dead God that I'll kill her. I'll kill her and avenge you. I'll make Lilith pay for what she did," Irina said as her eyes glowed violet.

The service winded down as everyone began to leave one by one. Before Lily and Mitsuki could leave, Irina called out to them.

"Mitsuki. Lily, I have something for you two. I was there… when Issei wrote it," Irina said. She pulled out a folded piece of paper from her dimensional storage seal. "He wrote it. Just in case he… you know," she said, glancing at the open casket.

Mitsuki accepted the letter with shaky hands.

"I'll leave you two alone," Irina said as she walked out of the mausoleum.

Lily looked up at her older sister as she sat down against the wall of the dais that held Issei's coffin. Lily saw down next to her, the red bracelet around her left wrist. The sapphire and emerald dulled in color as if projecting a wave of despair.

Mitsuki looked at Lily before unfolding the letter and reading it.

_Hey, um, Mii-chan. Lils. There's something I want to talk to you two about. Just in case you know. I know that in a year that I might die. Other than the girls that I'm bonded to, you two are my entire world. My sisters._

_Mii-chan. God, how do I say this? Please don't beat yourself up over what happened. I don't regret selling my soul to save you. I know that our childhood wasn't the best and we weren't close for a time as kids but… I never stopped loving you as my sister no matter how many times you put me down. And when you started talking to me again, I was happy. As twins, we could feel each other's feelings and I felt the pain and guilt you carried around and know that I never hated you. Like I said earlier, I always loved you, little sister. _

"Three minutes, Aniki," Mitsuki said, laughing a little as a watery smile made its way to her face.

_Please. Mii-chan. For my sake. Live for both of us. Take care of my car. Remember what I told you and please for God's sake, don't let Irina do anything stupid like hunt Lilith-nee down. Do this as a last request for Aniki. I left you with a little something to help with that. You'll know what it is. After all, blood is what holds us together. And please, don't make a deal._

Mitsuki's eyes widened as she remembered their moment at the Celestial Council Headquarters building. She snapped out of her thoughts and continued to read the letter.

_Lils. When you came into my life, it was when I had gotten back from training and I saw you eating out of the dumpster. And then I brought you to a McDonalds and since then, we were stuck together. I'll miss playing games with you. Teaching you how to use your powers. Making triple-decker waffle extravaganzas every morning with you. But the thing I will miss most of all is the things I'll never get to do. Teach you how to ride a bike. Threatening your first boyfriend. Being there at your graduation. Walking you down the aisle at your wedding. That goes for you too Mitsuki. You know. If you let me. _

"Baka Aniki. Of course, I would've," Mitsuki said.

_And for that, I'm sorry Lily. I failed you and Mitsuki as a brother. But even though I'm gone, I made sure that you'll never be alone. People called me the Red Dragon Emperor and Emperors pass on their titles._

Lily looked down at her bracelet. The gems seemed to glow in response to her.

_Lily. Keep an eye on Magala and remember what I taught you. And Ddraig. Tiamat. Mitsuki. If you're with her reading this, keep her safe. Make her the Red Dragon Emperor that I never got to be. Or should I say, Empress?_

_With love,_

_Your Big Brother, Issei Hyoudou_

Mitsuki's tears came back full force as she placed the letter down onto the floor and began to sob, wrapping her arms around Lily as the younger girl sobbed into her chest. Irina stood outside, crying silently as she listened to the inconsolable wails of the Hyoudou Sisters as they grieved over the loss of their older brother.

* * *

**Hell, Fifth Circle**

* * *

Issei screamed as another slash mark appeared on his chest. Blood profusely from it as he glared at the man before him.

Alastor grinned as he wiped the dagger clean.

"I'm not submitting to you bitch!" Issei said, spitting in his face.

Alastor paused, placing the dagger down then wiped his face.

"Oh no. Please. Struggle. Make this more fun for me Lamb of Judah. Besides. We haven't even gotten to the good parts yet."

Issei let out another scream that reverberated and echoed in unison with the damned souls of Hell.

* * *

**Well, there you go. The official last original chapter. After this, I'll only post the rewrite chapters.**


	48. Sorry Guys

**I know I said that I wouldn't do this but... I have to. I am going to re-write Til Midnight. As my first story, I have an unhealthy attachment to it and want to make it as great as possible. But don't worry! It will still have mostly the same things you all love about it. The main reason I'm doing this is that I don't like where it's going. It's getting harder for me to continue because I don't like the direction it's heading in and I want to change that. All the way from the beginning. Don't worry, the original won't go down so you can still go back and read it for the nostalgia. Some of the chapters will stay the same, like the damn prologue of course but a lot of the things will change. Demons will no longer be a thing. I realize that it's confusing having two sets of demons out there and to switch back and forth between who is who, is tiring and honestly, I get confused at times myself so please bear with me. There will be no breaks between the seasons this time as I will work five times as hard to get us back to where we are . I will spend my break trying to get as many of the new chapters out as possible.**

**Another thing that will change is Lilith and Lucifer. Lilith will return to being a pile of flesh used by Hades to make new devils and that's another reason I'm rewriting this. Highschool DxD Shin will be part of this but no... I will not make Baal-Berith as strong as Ophis or Great Red end of story. Lucifer will take on Lilith's role as the secondary antagonist in the story which means that new bad guy! or girl! or genderless primordial god that predates all of Creation.**

**Anyway, I hope you all have a nice day and please expect the chapter to go up in a day.**

**With a heavy heart**

**Crimson.**

**PS: Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited. It really meant a lot that you would work with me on this project. All 358 of you.**


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